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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: stand · bark · straw · ground · deal · date · prune · shower

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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. stand — to bear
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ground — a position
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. ground — crushed
  10. date — the fruit
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ground — the earth
  15. shower — rain
  16. prune — to trim
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. deal — to handle
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. date — on the calendar

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