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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · saw · bark · board · hide · shower · straw · wax

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. degree — temperature
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. board — to get on
  13. wax — to grow
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — rain
  17. board — a committee
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bark — to shout
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. shower — to wash
  24. board — a flat piece

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