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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: pitcher · shower · branch · suit · rule · rock · bark · spring

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rock — music
  6. suit — in cards
  7. suit — clothes
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. suit — to fit
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rule — a law
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. branch — a division
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. shower — rain
  19. spring — the season
  20. bark — to shout
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. rule — government
  23. rock — a stone
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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