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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 120 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: pound · prune · spring · bark · shower · plane · craft · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. bass — the instrument
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. shower — rain
  6. craft — a skill
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — low music
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. shower — to wash
  16. craft — boats
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spring — the season
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. pound — a weight
  23. spring — of water
  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