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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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. lean — thin
  7. shower — to wash
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. fork — in a road
  12. spring — of water
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. row — a line
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. snap — to click
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bark — to shout
  21. shower — rain
  22. spring — a coil
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. spring — the season

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