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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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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: fall · wind · spell · spring · bark · cap · shower · ball

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. shower — rain
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spell — letters
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a great time
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — of ice
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spring — of water
  14. bark — to shout
  15. spell — magic
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fall — the season
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cap — a lid
  22. spring — the season
  23. spell — a short time
  24. shower — to wash

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