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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. present — the time now
  4. fine — high quality
  5. mate — a friend
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. dip — to sink
  9. mate — a partner
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mate — to breed
  12. row — a line
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. shower — to wash
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. present — a gift
  17. present — there
  18. bark — to shout
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. row — to paddle
  22. shower — rain
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — a penalty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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