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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: cold · ruler · bark · march · craft · shower

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. craft — boats
  3. bark — to shout
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — rain
  7. cold — an illness
  8. march — music
  9. craft — a skill
  10. shower — to wash
  11. march — the month
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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