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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. band — a music group
  4. scale — in music
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bark — to shout
  9. game — wild animals
  10. track — a path
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. band — a ring
  15. club — a group
  16. track — a song
  17. scale — size or range
  18. ground — a position
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ground — the earth
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. ground — crushed
  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