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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wind — moving air
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. field — farmland
  6. present — the time now
  7. plane — a tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. present — a gift
  16. pitch — completely
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. field — a subject
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. present — there
  24. field — for sport

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