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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 116 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. march — the month
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cell — in biology
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bore — to drill
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. march — music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. march — the month
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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