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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. board — to get on
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wind — moving air
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wind — moving air
  16. branch — a division
  17. wake — a trail
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. shower — rain
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. board — a committee
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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