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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. race — humankind
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. scale — size or range
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. present — there
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. present — a gift
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bark — to shout
  19. present — the time now
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. scale — in music
  24. bat — in an idiom

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