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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. shower — rain
  3. club — a group
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. sharp — clever
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mate — to breed
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. club — for dancing
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. club — for golf
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bark — to shout
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pop — soda

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