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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. saw — the tool
  5. swing — to play on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. shower — rain
  10. lean — thin
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. swing — in golf
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. squash — to crush
  17. swing — music
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. saw — the tool
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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