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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. kid — child
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mark — a grade
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. wound — an injury
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. track — to keep track
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. shower — to wash
  18. track — a path
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. track — a song
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mark — a trace

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