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

Word bank: bark · lie · wave · land · last · bat · pop · content

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. lie — to recline
  4. land — a country
  5. last — finally
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. pop — music
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bark — to shout
  13. land — to come down
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. pop — to visit
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pop — soda
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. last — final
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. land — ground

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