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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bass — low music
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. mark — a trace
  9. pitch — completely
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. game — a match
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wake — a trail
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mark — a grade
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bass — the fish
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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