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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: key · bass · degree · bark · pound · fall · pitcher · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. degree — from a university
  4. key — for a lock
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — an amount
  11. key — in music
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bass — low music
  17. shower — rain
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bass — the fish
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fall — the season
  23. pound — a weight
  24. fall — to drop

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