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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. snap — to click
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. chest — a box
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bark — to shout
  12. firm — steady
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. firm — a company
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. firm — decided
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chest — of your body

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