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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.

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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: shower · bark · kick · mouse · stick · swing · net · rest

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rest — a break
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. net — in sport
  16. shower — rain
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. rest — what's left
  19. net — for catching
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. rest — what's left
  23. kick — in football
  24. net — after costs

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