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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. club — for dancing
  3. shower — rain
  4. club — for golf
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fine — high quality
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bound — certain
  10. club — a group
  11. fine — all right
  12. net — for catching
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bound — obliged
  16. net — after costs
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wind — moving air
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. net — in sport
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. hide — animal skin

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