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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 124 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rash — a series
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bear — the animal
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bear — the animal
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. squash — to crush
  12. game — wild animals
  13. content — the amount
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. game — a match
  16. bark — to shout
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. content — happy
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. squash — the sport

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