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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bound — certain
  6. sharp — clever
  7. shower — rain
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. prune — to trim
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bark — to shout
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bound — tied together

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