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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: bark · bore · shower · tube · fall · field · spell · branch

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. shower — rain
  3. spell — magic
  4. field — for sport
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. bore — to drill
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bore — to tire
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bark — to shout
  13. spell — a short time
  14. field — a subject
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. branch — a division
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. fall — the season
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. field — farmland
  23. spell — letters
  24. bore — gave birth

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