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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bass — the fish
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bark — to shout
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. game — a match
  18. tube — a container
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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