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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 116 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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. shower — rain
  3. bark — to shout
  4. row — to paddle
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. field — farmland
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. plane — a tool
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rush — hurry
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. shower — to wash

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