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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fine — all right
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. tear — from crying
  9. shower — to wash
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spell — letters
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bark — to shout
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. fine — high quality
  22. tear — from crying
  23. shower — rain
  24. spell — magic

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