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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: shower · rock · march · pop · hand · jam · stock · bark

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stock — goods
  4. pop — music
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. march — the month
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. hand — help
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. hand — in cards
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. shower — to wash
  15. march — music
  16. stock — shares
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. march — the month
  22. rock — music
  23. shower — rain
  24. pop — soda

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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