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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. fine — all right
  4. rash — hasty
  5. roll — a cake
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bound — obliged
  8. ground — a position
  9. bound — certain
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bark — to shout
  15. ground — the earth
  16. roll — a list
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. roll — on a roll

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