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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 116 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: rest · lash · bark · spring · degree · chair · shower · firm

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. firm — steady
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. firm — a company
  10. bark — to shout
  11. degree — temperature
  12. firm — decided
  13. rest — a break
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. shower — rain
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. spring — the season
  23. chair — a leader
  24. spring — of water

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