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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rock — music
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. saw — the tool
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — rain
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bound — obliged
  18. rock — a stone
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bound — certain
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. pitch — a sports field

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