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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. lie — to recline
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. drill — a practice
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bark — to shout
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lean — thin
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bat — the animal
  17. drill — army training
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. drill — the tool
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. tube — the underground
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wound — an injury

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