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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: branch · bark · spring · degree · dip · shower · bay · can

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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. bay — a horse colour
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. can — a tin
  8. spring — a coil
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bark — to shout
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. can — to be able to
  17. spring — of water
  18. can — a tin
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. spring — the season
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. branch — a division

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