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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rock — music
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cap — a hat
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — rain
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wake — a trail
  16. mate — a friend
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bark — to shout
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rock — a stone
  23. cap — a lid
  24. hide — to keep secret

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