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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: bound · leaves · bat · shower · kid · wake

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. shower — rain
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. bound — tied together
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bound — certain
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. bound — obliged
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wake — a trail
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kid — child

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