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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. scale — size or range
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. tube — a container
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. scale — in music
  17. shower — rain
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. tube — in a tire

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