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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: bark · bound · wind · hand · mine · ruler

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bound — tied together
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. bound — certain
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bound — obliged
  12. hand — help
  13. bark — to shout
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bark — of a tree

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