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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: pound · march · toast · bark · calf · patient · wake · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. march — the month
  7. toast — bread
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. shower — rain
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. march — music
  19. wake — a trail
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. march — the month
  24. calf — of the leg

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