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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 120 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. shower — rain
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. board — a committee
  5. craft — boats
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — clever
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. shower — to wash
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bark — to shout
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. craft — a skill
  21. court — of a king
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — to get on
  24. stem — to come from

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