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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. last — finally
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. band — a ring
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pound — a weight
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. last — final
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. band — a music group
  22. shower — rain
  23. bark — to shout
  24. kick — in football

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