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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: cap · clip · shower · rash · spring · key · bark · bore

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. key — in music
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bark — to shout
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. spring — the season
  9. bore — to drill
  10. key — for a lock
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rash — hasty
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cap — a lid
  17. clip — a video
  18. bore — to tire
  19. spring — of water
  20. rash — a series
  21. shower — to wash
  22. key — the most important part
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a hat

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