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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. ball — a great time
  3. spell — a short time
  4. track — a song
  5. ball — a dance
  6. track — to keep track
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. bulb — for light
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bark — to shout
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. shower — rain
  22. vault — a safe
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. track — a path

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