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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cell — a phone
  5. key — in music
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. can — a tin
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. cell — in biology
  10. can — a tin
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. key — for a lock
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. shower — rain
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. shower — to wash
  22. key — the most important part
  23. can — to be able to
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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