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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: pound · bark · shower · fork · march · bore · ball · rush

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. ball — a great time
  4. bore — to tire
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ball — a dance
  8. rush — hurry
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pound — a weight
  13. march — music
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. shower — to wash
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. march — the month
  20. shower — rain
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — to hurry

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