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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 120 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: bat · content · temple · fall · coach · bark · cap · lash

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. content — the amount
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bat — the animal
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cap — a hat
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cap — of ice
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. fall — the season
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. bark — to shout
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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