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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. net — after costs
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a trace
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. bark — to shout
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. net — in sport
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bat — the animal
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. hand — help
  19. plane — a tool
  20. march — the month
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. net — for catching
  24. bark — of a tree

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