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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: bark · net · rock · clip · chest · swing · shower · suit

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. net — in sport
  3. suit — clothes
  4. suit — in cards
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. clip — to cut
  7. shower — to wash
  8. swing — in golf
  9. chest — of your body
  10. shower — rain
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rock — a stone
  13. suit — to fit
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — a video
  16. chest — a box
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — for catching
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rock — music
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bark — to shout

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