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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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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: wind · object · hide · chest · mouse · bark · saw · bat

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. object — an aim
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. object — a thing
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. chest — a box
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. object — to protest
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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