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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bark — to shout
  3. track — to keep track
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. track — a song
  9. row — to paddle
  10. stock — goods
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. stock — shares
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. snap — to click
  19. row — a line
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. bulb — for light
  24. row — a quarrel

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