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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. file — a tool
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. cell — in biology
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bark — to shout
  12. last — to go on
  13. file — a document
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. last — finally
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. stand — to bear
  24. last — final

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