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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. track — to keep track
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bat — the animal
  6. track — a song
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. spell — magic
  16. mark — a trace
  17. club — a group
  18. shower — rain
  19. track — a path
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. spell — letters

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