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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. squash — the sport
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. squash — to crush
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cell — in biology
  8. present — a gift
  9. chip — to eat
  10. mark — a trace
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — there
  13. bat — the animal
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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