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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: cell · race · court · saw · hide · shower · bark · current

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bark — to shout
  4. shower — to wash
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. current — happening now
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. court — for sport
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. race — a contest
  20. cell — in biology
  21. shower — rain
  22. current — of water
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. current — electric

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