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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rash — a series
  3. bound — certain
  4. present — there
  5. present — the time now
  6. shower — rain
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bark — to shout
  9. shower — to wash
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bound — obliged
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mate — a partner
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. present — a gift
  19. bound — tied together
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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