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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. last — finally
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ball — a great time
  6. shower — to wash
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. ball — a dance
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. last — final
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. shower — rain
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. last — to go on
  17. snap — to click
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. branch — a division
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. cabinet — ministers

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