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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pit — a hole
  4. ground — crushed
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. last — final
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. pass — a permit
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. toast — bread
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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