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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rock — music
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bass — low music
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. kid — child

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