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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. drill — army training
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — a measure
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bat — the animal
  19. drill — a practice
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bear — the animal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bat — in an idiom

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