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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: shower · spring · bark · current · mate · last · coach · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. shower — rain
  3. mate — a friend
  4. spring — of water
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. current — of water
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. last — to go on
  10. bark — to shout
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mate — a partner
  13. last — final
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. club — for golf
  16. last — finally
  17. current — electric
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mate — to breed
  21. club — a group
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. spring — the season
  24. current — happening now

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