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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: snap · bark · wind · club · shower · bore · fine · charge

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. shower — rain
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bore — to tire
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — a group
  11. wind — moving air
  12. shower — to wash
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — electricity
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fine — high quality
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bore — to drill

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