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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — a stone
  4. shower — to wash
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. court — for sport
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. perch — the fish
  14. hand — in cards
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bark — to shout
  21. court — of law
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. court — of a king

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