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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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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: bulb · shower · bark · swing · kid · prune · nail · drill

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kid — child
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. drill — the tool
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — to shout
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bulb — for light
  16. swing — in golf
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. drill — a practice
  19. kid — to tease
  20. prune — to trim
  21. swing — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. drill — army training
  24. swing — to play on

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