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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. fork — in a road
  4. spell — a short time
  5. field — farmland
  6. spell — letters
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bass — low music
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — a company
  14. firm — steady
  15. field — a subject
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. field — for sport
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. spell — magic
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. shower — rain

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