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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wound — an injury
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. march — music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. scale — size or range
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — in music
  22. bark — to shout
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ruler — for measuring

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