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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: rest · court · spring · mine · bark · shower · chest · stick

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chest — a box
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bark — to shout
  5. court — of a king
  6. chest — of your body
  7. court — of law
  8. spring — the season
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. spring — of water
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. shower — to wash
  17. rest — a break
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rest — what's left
  20. court — for sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mine — for digging
  24. shower — rain

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