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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. current — electric
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. shower — rain
  7. game — a match
  8. band — a music group
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. shower — to wash
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. current — happening now
  17. bark — to shout
  18. band — a ring
  19. current — of water
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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