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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — to come down
  9. fall — the season
  10. bark — to shout
  11. lie — to recline
  12. squash — to crush
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. scale — in music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bat — the animal
  22. land — a country
  23. press — newspapers
  24. land — ground

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