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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bark — to shout
  8. land — to come down
  9. shower — rain
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. land — a country
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. club — a group
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rash — a series
  20. last — finally
  21. rash — hasty
  22. club — for golf
  23. fork — in a road
  24. shower — to wash

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