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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. land — ground
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mark — a grade
  7. land — to come down
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mark — a trace
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. land — a country
  24. bark — of a tree

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