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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mine — for digging
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rule — a law
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rule — government
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cell — a phone
  14. present — a gift
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. present — the time now
  22. shower — rain
  23. present — there
  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