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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: saw · shower · bark · degree · spring · staff · swing · bear

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. shower — to wash
  3. saw — the tool
  4. shower — rain
  5. staff — employees
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. degree — temperature
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bear — the animal
  11. spring — the season
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. swing — to play on
  14. staff — employees
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spring — of water
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bark — to shout
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bear — the animal
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. staff — a stick

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