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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. club — a group
  6. craft — a skill
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. club — for dancing
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. wake — a trail
  12. craft — boats
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. club — for golf
  15. clip — a video
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rule — a law
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rule — government

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