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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — of water
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cell — in biology
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cell — a phone
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. land — ground
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. shower — rain
  15. bark — to shout
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. current — electric
  19. fine — high quality
  20. land — to come down
  21. track — a path
  22. land — a country
  23. fine — all right
  24. prune — to trim

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