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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rash — hasty
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pop — soda
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. row — a line
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. spring — of water
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. spring — the season
  14. craft — boats
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pop — to visit
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pop — music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. shower — to wash
  24. rash — a series

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