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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. squash — to crush
  4. present — there
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. shower — rain
  7. squash — the sport
  8. shower — to wash
  9. spring — the season
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. present — a gift
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — electric
  14. current — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bark — to shout
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. spring — of water
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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