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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pop — to visit
  3. last — final
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. current — of water
  6. lean — to bend
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. lean — thin
  9. pop — soda
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. last — finally
  12. ball — a great time
  13. pop — music
  14. last — to go on
  15. current — happening now
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. current — electric
  24. wake — a trail

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