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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fork · drill · shower · bark · season · chest · club · pitcher

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. drill — army training
  3. shower — to wash
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. chest — of your body
  14. season — in sport
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. shower — rain
  17. chest — of your body
  18. club — a group
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. chest — a box
  21. season — of the year
  22. fork — in a road
  23. drill — a practice
  24. club — for golf

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