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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: prune · kick · fork · shower · bark · charge · content · hand

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. content — happy
  6. shower — rain
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. charge — a price
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. prune — to trim
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — help
  15. kick — in football
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. content — the amount
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — in control
  22. bark — to shout
  23. fork — in a road
  24. prune — to trim

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