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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. roll — a cake
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. drill — a practice
  12. fall — the season
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bat — the animal
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. shower — rain
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bass — low music
  24. fall — to drop

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