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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · bat · mate · land · wound · fine · wave · bark

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. land — to come down
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bat — the animal
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. land — a country
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mate — to breed
  16. land — ground
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bark — to shout
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. fine — all right
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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