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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. shower — to wash
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. content — the amount
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bark — to shout
  12. drill — army training
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a cake
  20. content — happy
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. shower — rain
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. content — videos and posts

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