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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. shower — rain
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bark — to shout
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. squash — to crush
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cell — in biology
  19. shower — to wash
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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