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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rash — a series
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. ground — the earth
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ground — a position
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. ground — crushed
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. game — a match
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. press — to push

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