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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. clip — a video
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. season — in sport
  10. mine — for digging
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. season — of the year
  16. pass — a permit
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. season — to add flavour

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