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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. rule — a law
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stand — to bear
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. scale — size or range
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bear — the animal
  19. rule — government
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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