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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: degree · shower · band · cue · pitcher · object · bark · craft

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — a skill
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cue — a hint
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. object — a thing
  9. shower — to wash
  10. band — a music group
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cue — a signal
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cue — for pool
  18. degree — temperature
  19. band — a ring
  20. object — to protest
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. object — an aim
  24. shower — rain

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