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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 116 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bat — the animal
  3. scale — in music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. row — a line
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cell — a phone
  23. scale — size or range
  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