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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: club · can · shower · bat · bore · drill · mark · bark

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. shower — rain
  3. bore — to tire
  4. drill — army training
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bark — to shout
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bore — to drill
  17. club — for golf
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. drill — a practice
  24. club — a group

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