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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 124 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. last — to go on
  3. bark — to shout
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. last — final
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. face — to confront
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. last — finally
  14. ball — a dance
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ball — a great time
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kid — child

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