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

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tube — the underground
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. drill — army training
  8. pop — music
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. drill — the tool
  12. pop — to visit
  13. band — a music group
  14. shower — rain
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. tube — a container
  17. pop — soda
  18. bark — to shout
  19. shower — to wash
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wind — moving air
  23. band — a ring
  24. tube — in a tire

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