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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 116 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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rock — music
  7. field — a subject
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. band — a music group
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. plane — a tool
  15. rock — a stone
  16. field — for sport
  17. band — a ring
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. field — farmland
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. shower — rain

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