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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. scale — in music
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. shower — rain
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bank — of a river
  12. game — a match
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bank — for money
  16. hand — help
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bat — the animal
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bank — for money
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. shower — to wash

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