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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bark — to shout
  5. shower — rain
  6. club — a group
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pit — a hole
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. toast — bread
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pit — in a race
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. content — the amount
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. club — for golf
  23. content — happy
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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