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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 120 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. race — a contest
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stem — to come from
  8. race — the arms race
  9. shower — rain
  10. chest — a box
  11. race — humankind
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. perch — the fish
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. game — a match
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. chest — of your body

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