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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bat — the animal
  5. branch — a division
  6. toast — bread
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — rain
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. key — the most important part
  24. saw — the tool

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