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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. shower — rain
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wound — an injury
  5. scale — size or range
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. mug — to rob
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. track — to keep track
  16. mug — a cup
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — in music
  19. mug — a face
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. track — a song
  22. wound — an injury
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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