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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. present — a gift
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cap — of ice
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chip — to eat
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. present — there
  15. chip — for betting
  16. shower — rain
  17. present — the time now
  18. cell — in biology
  19. shower — to wash
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bark — to shout
  24. row — a quarrel

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