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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 124 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spring — the season
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. board — to get on
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spring — of water
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. shower — to wash
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. shower — rain
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wake — a trail
  24. board — a committee

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