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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cell — in biology
  6. last — final
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rash — a series
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bark — to shout
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. last — to go on
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. last — finally
  24. bat — in an idiom

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