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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. snap — to click
  3. track — a song
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pitch — completely
  9. track — to keep track
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bark — to shout
  13. shower — rain
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. game — a match
  19. track — a path
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. shower — to wash

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