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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · march · root · pit · shower · band · plane · pitcher

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pit — in a race
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. march — the month
  9. root — of a word
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. shower — rain
  12. march — the month
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. root — the cause
  16. march — music
  17. bark — to shout
  18. plane — a tool
  19. band — a ring
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. band — a music group
  22. root — of a plant
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pit — a hole

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