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

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. fine — all right
  7. season — of the year
  8. shower — to wash
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fine — high quality
  11. pop — music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pop — to visit
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. shower — rain
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pop — soda
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. season — in sport

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