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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: rush · vault · bark · bowl · branch · shower · season · pound

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rush — hurry
  7. shower — rain
  8. season — of the year
  9. branch — a division
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. vault — a safe
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. season — in sport

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