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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. key — for a lock
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. season — in sport
  6. court — of law
  7. land — ground
  8. key — the most important part
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. court — of a king
  17. rash — a series
  18. shower — rain
  19. land — a country
  20. key — in music
  21. court — for sport
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. land — to come down
  24. season — of the year

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