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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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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: wave · stick · pound · bark · swing · shower · spring · mine

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. swing — in golf
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — for digging
  14. swing — music
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. shower — rain
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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