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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: chest · saw · bark · pitcher · date · march · staff · shower

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chest — a box
  3. bark — to shout
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. shower — rain
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. march — music
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — to wash
  16. march — the month
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. saw — the tool
  20. march — the month
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. date — the fruit

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