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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. bat — the animal
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rush — hurry
  6. scale — in music
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bark — to shout
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rest — what's left
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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