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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 116 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. scale — in music
  4. land — to come down
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. land — ground
  7. face — part of the head
  8. shower — rain
  9. face — to point toward
  10. scale — size or range
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bark — to shout
  13. band — a music group
  14. object — a thing
  15. file — a document
  16. face — to confront
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. object — to protest
  19. land — a country
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. shower — to wash
  23. object — an aim
  24. band — a ring

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