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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rock · bark · shower · mate · cold · mouse · sharp · lean

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — a stone
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. rock — music
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cold — not warm
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. mate — to breed
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. lean — thin

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