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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. drill — army training
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. present — there
  6. present — the time now
  7. drill — the tool
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. present — a gift
  10. court — of a king
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bark — to shout
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mine — for digging
  20. content — happy
  21. shower — rain
  22. court — for sport
  23. content — the amount
  24. court — of law

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