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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hide · file · shower · bark · straw · present · ball · date

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. shower — rain
  3. present — there
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. ball — a great time
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ball — a dance
  8. present — a gift
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bark — to shout
  14. file — a tool
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. file — a line of people
  18. present — the time now
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. file — a document
  22. date — the fruit
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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