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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bark — to shout
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bear — the animal
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ground — a position
  13. bear — the animal
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. kid — to tease
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. kid — child
  22. shower — rain
  23. wound — an injury
  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