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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. shower — rain
  5. bark — to shout
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. foot — a measure
  13. track — a song
  14. craft — boats
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. craft — a skill
  20. hand — help
  21. track — a path
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. hand — in cards
  24. scale — in music

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