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

Word bank: wake · shower · chair · bark · court · pass · bat · snap

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. shower — rain
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. snap — to click
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. court — of law
  13. bark — to shout
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. chair — a leader
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. shower — to wash
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

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