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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 120 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: shower · temple · wave · bark · track · mine · last · tube

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. track — a path
  4. shower — to wash
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mine — for digging
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. last — final
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. shower — rain
  18. tube — a container
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. track — a song
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. tube — in a tire

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