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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — soda
  3. shower — rain
  4. bark — to shout
  5. scale — in music
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. march — music
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. sharp — clever
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. pop — to visit
  15. object — to protest
  16. shower — to wash
  17. object — a thing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. object — an aim
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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