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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. object — to protest
  6. cue — a signal
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. object — a thing
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wax — to grow
  16. object — an aim
  17. cue — for pool
  18. land — to come down
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wax — for sculpting

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