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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. craft — a skill
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. pit — in a race
  9. craft — boats
  10. pit — a hole
  11. ground — a position
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. roll — a cake
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. branch — a division
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. shower — rain
  21. roll — a list
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bark — to shout
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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