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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pit — a hole
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. shower — to wash
  7. track — a song
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. track — a path
  10. pit — in a race
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. shower — rain
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. track — to keep track
  21. game — a match
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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