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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. game — a match
  4. fall — to drop
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. game — wild animals
  7. band — a ring
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bark — to shout
  10. date — the fruit
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fall — to drop
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. shower — to wash
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fall — the season

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