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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. club — a group
  3. shower — rain
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. last — finally
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. last — to go on
  14. band — a music group
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. band — a ring
  22. club — for golf
  23. shower — to wash
  24. club — for dancing

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