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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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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: bear · bark · bat · racket · fan · chair · game · can

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. can — a tin
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bear — the animal
  10. can — to be able to
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bear — the animal
  14. can — a tin
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bark — to shout
  22. game — a match
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. game — a kind of play

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