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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. row — to paddle
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. cue — a hint
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cue — a signal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. row — a line
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — the animal
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cue — for pool
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. saw — the tool

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