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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — an injury
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. last — finally
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. fall — the season
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pit — a hole
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — the underground
  18. last — to go on
  19. tube — a container
  20. shower — rain
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pit — in a race
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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