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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bark · scale · can · ground · bass · wound · shower · row

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. row — a line
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wound — an injury
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wound — an injury
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. scale — in music
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bass — low music
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. can — a tin
  19. shower — rain
  20. can — a tin
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. ground — a position
  24. bass — the fish

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