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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — money
  3. shower — rain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. wound — an injury
  6. band — a ring
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bound — obliged
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. capital — a city
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bound — certain
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mug — to rob
  23. shower — to wash
  24. band — a music group

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