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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bark — to shout
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. shower — rain
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rock — a stone
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. rock — music
  22. pitch — completely
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bark — of a tree

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