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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. stock — shares
  3. shower — to wash
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — a thing
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. object — to protest
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bark — to shout
  12. spell — letters
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. spell — magic
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. object — an aim
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. club — for golf
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spell — a short time
  22. club — for dancing
  23. clip — a video
  24. club — a group

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