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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pass — a permit
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. roll — a cake
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. stock — goods
  10. roll — a list
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. file — a document
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stock — shares
  20. file — a line of people
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. shower — rain
  23. file — a tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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