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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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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: cell · bark · straw · bay · drill · band · club · shower

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. shower — rain
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cell — a phone
  13. club — a group
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. band — a music group
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. club — for golf
  20. cell — in biology
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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