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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wake — a trail
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bat — the animal
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. band — a music group
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rule — a law
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. band — a ring
  18. shower — rain
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. deal — a big deal

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