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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. march — the month
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. march — music
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. shower — rain
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pound — a weight
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  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