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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fine — high quality
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fine — all right
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. season — of the year
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. chest — a box
  21. bark — to shout
  22. chest — of your body
  23. drill — army training
  24. safe — out of danger

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