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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 120 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pit — in a race
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bark — to shout
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. game — a match
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. drill — army training
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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