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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. suit — in cards
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cell — in biology
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. bat — the animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. roll — a cake
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. roll — a list
  16. suit — clothes
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mug — to rob
  22. cell — a phone
  23. suit — to fit
  24. bark — to shout

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