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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. net — in sport
  6. stem — to come from
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. shower — to wash
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kid — child
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. game — a match
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. shower — rain
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. net — for catching
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. net — after costs

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