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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. spell — a short time
  3. shower — rain
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spell — magic
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. season — in sport
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. staff — a stick
  14. season — of the year
  15. land — to come down
  16. staff — employees
  17. bark — to shout
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. spell — letters
  20. date — the fruit
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. staff — employees
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bark — of a tree

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