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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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. game — a match
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. wound — an injury
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bat — the animal
  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