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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. staff — employees
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rest — what's left
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. scale — size or range
  11. net — in sport
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. cap — of ice
  18. game — a match
  19. bat — the animal
  20. staff — employees
  21. bark — to shout
  22. scale — in music
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. staff — a stick

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