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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bark — to shout
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mine — for digging
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chair — a leader
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. fall — to drop
  13. game — a match
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bound — certain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. shower — rain

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