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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bark — to shout
  11. content — happy
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. cap — a hat
  17. content — the amount
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. cap — a lid
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cap — of ice
  24. leaves — to go away

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