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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mate — a partner
  5. shower — rain
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. press — to push
  8. track — a path
  9. march — music
  10. row — a line
  11. track — a song
  12. craft — boats
  13. bark — to shout
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. march — the month
  18. craft — a skill
  19. shower — to wash
  20. press — a publisher
  21. track — to keep track
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. march — the month
  24. press — newspapers

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