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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: spring · bowl · roll · last · shower · tube · bark · staff

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. spring — a coil
  3. roll — a list
  4. last — finally
  5. spring — the season
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. shower — to wash
  8. last — to go on
  9. tube — the underground
  10. last — final
  11. spring — of water
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. roll — a cake
  18. tube — a container
  19. staff — employees
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. staff — employees
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. staff — a stick

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