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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. shower — to wash
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. chest — a box
  7. bat — the animal
  8. land — ground
  9. dip — to sink
  10. chest — of your body
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. land — a country
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. land — to come down

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