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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pit — in a race
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bat — the animal
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com