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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. ball — a dance
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rash — a series
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wake — a trail
  15. craft — boats
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bat — the animal
  18. ball — a great time
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bark — of a tree

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