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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. snap — to click
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bark — to shout
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. ball — a great time
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — a committee
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. board — to get on
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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