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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: shower · spring · arm · bulb · content · bark · pop · foot

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. content — the amount
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. content — happy
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. pop — music
  13. foot — a measure
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. spring — of water
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pop — soda
  20. shower — rain
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pop — to visit
  24. bark — to shout

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