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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. object — to protest
  3. ground — a position
  4. pop — soda
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — a thing
  9. ground — crushed
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bark — to shout
  15. shower — rain
  16. pop — music
  17. game — wild animals
  18. band — a music group
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pop — to visit
  22. game — a match
  23. ground — the earth
  24. band — a ring

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