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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 124 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bark — to shout
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rash — hasty
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. squash — the sport
  8. rash — a series
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. squash — to crush
  11. march — music
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. march — the month
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. march — the month
  23. ball — a dance
  24. date — the fruit

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