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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bound — certain
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. season — of the year
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pop — soda
  17. kid — child
  18. shower — to wash
  19. kid — to tease
  20. shower — rain
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. season — in sport
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bark — to shout

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