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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. swing — in golf
  4. date — the fruit
  5. shower — rain
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. foot — a measure
  18. shower — to wash
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. sharp — clever
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. swing — music
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bark — to shout

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