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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: bark · last · calf · deal · plane · land · shower · mine

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. land — a country
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — a tool
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. last — final
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. last — to go on
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bark — to shout
  16. shower — rain
  17. last — finally
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. calf — a young animal

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