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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 · shower · fan · chest · game · mug · board · file

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mug — to rob
  4. board — to get on
  5. file — a tool
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chest — of your body
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bark — to shout
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mug — a cup
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. board — a committee
  16. mug — a face
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. file — a document
  21. chest — a box
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. game — a match
  24. shower — rain

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