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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. shower — rain
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. ground — a position
  13. foot — a measure
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — soda
  17. ground — crushed
  18. land — ground
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. ground — the earth
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pop — music

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