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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. current — electric
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. row — a line
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. squash — the sport
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. row — to paddle
  21. current — of water
  22. current — happening now
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. row — a quarrel

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