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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. shower — rain
  5. bear — the animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bear — the animal
  12. hand — help
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bark — to shout
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. shower — to wash

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