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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: stick · bark · hide · shower · kick · branch · court · pit

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. court — of law
  6. pit — in a race
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bark — to shout
  9. kick — in football
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. shower — rain
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pit — a hole
  14. branch — a division
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. court — for sport
  23. shower — to wash
  24. court — of a king

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