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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fine — all right
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wound — an injury
  7. present — a gift
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. present — the time now
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fine — high quality
  14. present — there
  15. wound — an injury
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bat — the animal
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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