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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. rash — a series
  4. row — a line
  5. chip — for betting
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rash — hasty
  8. row — to paddle
  9. pop — soda
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pop — to visit
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. stem — to come from
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pop — music
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chip — to eat
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. chip — in a computer

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