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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 120 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. dip — to sink
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bore — to tire
  13. rash — a series
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bore — to drill
  20. rash — hasty
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. shower — to wash
  24. rash — on the skin

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