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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mine — for digging
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. sharp — clever
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. pit — a hole
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. shower — rain
  14. pit — in a race
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. press — newspapers
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. press — to push
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bark — to shout

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