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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. track — to keep track
  9. object — an aim
  10. snap — to click
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mine — for digging
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. pit — a hole
  17. track — a path
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. object — a thing
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. object — to protest
  22. shower — rain
  23. track — a song
  24. leaves — to go away

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