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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. game — a match
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pop — music
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. row — a line
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bound — obliged
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pop — soda
  24. bound — certain

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