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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. march — music
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bark — to shout
  8. shower — rain
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. spring — of water
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. march — the month
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. march — the month
  24. spring — the season

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