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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 120 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bat — the animal
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bark — to shout

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