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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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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: drill · cap · scale · bark · shower · present · fork · pound

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. drill — a practice
  4. present — a gift
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. drill — the tool
  7. scale — size or range
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cap — a lid
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pound — a weight
  13. shower — to wash
  14. present — there
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. shower — rain
  19. cap — of ice
  20. scale — in music
  21. drill — army training
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. present — the time now
  24. fork — to eat with

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