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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bass — low music
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. spell — magic
  14. swing — music
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. swing — in golf
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wound — an injury

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