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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. row — a line
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bound — certain
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bound — obliged
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bound — tied together
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. staff — employees
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bark — to shout

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