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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. object — to protest
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bark — to shout
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. object — an aim
  9. rash — a series
  10. scale — in music
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wind — moving air
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rash — hasty
  16. shower — to wash
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. object — a thing
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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