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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. spell — letters
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. spell — magic
  10. chest — a box
  11. shower — to wash
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. shower — rain
  15. chest — of your body
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. toast — bread
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spell — a short time
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wound — an injury

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