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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: game · rash · shower · rush · stem · ball · bark · staff

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rash — hasty
  5. shower — rain
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. staff — employees
  10. stem — to come from
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. staff — a stick
  14. rash — a series
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. staff — employees
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. game — a match
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. shower — to wash
  23. ball — a great time
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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