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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. shower — rain
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pop — soda
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. season — in sport
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. game — a match
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pop — to visit
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pop — music
  16. ground — the earth
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. ground — a position
  22. track — a song
  23. game — a kind of play
  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