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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: season · hide · shower · bark · chest · degree · stick · fork

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  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 — to shout
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. season — of the year
  6. chest — a box
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. season — in sport
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. degree — an amount
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fork — in a road
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chest — of your body
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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