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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 · wind · lie · shower · cabinet · bat · firm · cell

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. firm — decided
  5. shower — rain
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. firm — steady
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. firm — a company
  17. bark — to shout
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. wind — moving air

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