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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · firm · bark · cell · safe · shower · bowl · last

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. last — finally
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cell — a phone
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. firm — steady
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wind — moving air
  16. shower — rain
  17. last — final
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. firm — decided
  20. shower — to wash
  21. firm — a company
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cell — in biology
  24. last — to go on

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