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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. object — to protest
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — low music
  6. object — a thing
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. object — an aim
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wound — an injury
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. hand — help
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bark — to shout
  24. drill — army training

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