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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tube — the underground
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tube — a container
  8. capital — a city
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bark — to shout
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. capital — money
  15. shower — rain
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a great time
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. craft — a skill
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bark — of a tree

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