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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 116 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bass — low music
  7. kid — child
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. court — of law
  17. tube — a container
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. tube — the underground
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bark — to shout

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