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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: shower · ball · spell · pop · firm · foot · bark · pitcher

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. spell — letters
  3. ball — a dance
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bark — to shout
  6. firm — a company
  7. spell — a short time
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. ball — a great time
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. spell — magic
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. firm — decided
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pop — music
  21. shower — rain
  22. pop — soda
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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