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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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Word bank
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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: mouse · firm · bark · last · shower · field · rash · bat

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. field — for sport
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. last — finally
  7. field — a subject
  8. firm — a company
  9. last — to go on
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bat — the animal
  12. firm — decided
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. firm — steady
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. last — final
  19. shower — rain
  20. rash — hasty
  21. field — farmland
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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