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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: bark · bore · cell · fall · jam · wind · shower · straw

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wind — moving air
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. fall — to drop
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. fall — to drop
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bore — to tire
  15. fall — the season
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bark — to shout
  24. wind — to turn a key

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