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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. chest — a box
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fall — the season
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bass — low music
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bass — the fish
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bear — the animal

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