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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spell — a short time
  6. shower — to wash
  7. march — the month
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. land — a country
  10. shower — rain
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. march — music
  14. land — to come down
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. march — the month
  18. stem — to come from
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spell — letters
  22. land — ground
  23. spell — magic
  24. hide — to keep secret

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