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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. present — there
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rest — what's left
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. present — a gift
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mark — a trace
  17. present — the time now
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rest — what's left
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rest — a break
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. arm — part of the 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