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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. tube — the underground
  3. fine — high quality
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wound — an injury
  7. season — in sport
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. season — of the year
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fine — all right
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kick — in football
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. tube — a container
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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