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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. stem — to come from
  4. suit — to fit
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. suit — in cards
  10. game — a match
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bark — to shout
  17. scale — size or range
  18. shower — rain
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. scale — in music
  22. suit — clothes
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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