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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: net · degree · bay · date · arm · shower · bark · wound

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. wound — an injury
  4. net — in sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. degree — temperature
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. degree — an amount
  19. net — for catching
  20. wound — an injury
  21. net — after costs
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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