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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cap — a hat
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cap — of ice
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bark — to shout
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. scale — size or range
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. scale — in music
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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