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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: bound · bark · shower · fork · tube · pop · chest · deal

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pop — soda
  4. chest — a box
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bound — obliged
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bound — certain
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pop — music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. tube — the underground

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