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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: date · bark · fork · shower · plane · straw · safe · prune

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. plane — a tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. shower — rain
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. prune — to trim
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. fork — in a road
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. shower — to wash
  24. plane — in geometry

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