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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. spring — of water
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bat — the animal
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. spring — the season
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bark — to shout
  13. spring — a coil
  14. sharp — clever
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. pit — in a race
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bat — for baseball

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