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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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. calf — a young animal
  4. club — for dancing
  5. shower — rain
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. suit — clothes
  8. clip — a video
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. club — for golf
  11. suit — in cards
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. club — a group
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. clip — to cut
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. suit — to fit
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bark — to shout

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