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

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. shower — rain
  3. suit — to fit
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bark — to shout
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. suit — in cards
  9. present — there
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. suit — clothes
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. present — the time now
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. capital — money
  17. shower — to wash
  18. capital — a city

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