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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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. date — the fruit
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stock — shares
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stock — goods
  24. mine — for digging

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