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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. bark — to shout
  8. track — to keep track
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. track — a song
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. shower — to wash
  15. spell — magic
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. track — a path
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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