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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mate — a partner
  4. track — a path
  5. current — happening now
  6. kid — child
  7. cue — a signal
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mate — to breed
  12. shower — to wash
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mate — a friend
  17. kid — to tease
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. current — of water
  23. shower — rain
  24. current — electric

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