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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. drill — the tool
  5. shower — rain
  6. drill — a practice
  7. fall — the season
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. ground — the earth
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. drill — army training
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fall — to drop
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. ground — a position
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bark — of a tree

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