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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. spring — of water
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. spring — the season
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cap — of ice
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. bear — the animal
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cap — a hat
  23. shower — rain
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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