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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 · bay · press · wind · bound · craft

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bound — certain
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. press — newspapers
  13. craft — boats
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bound — obliged
  17. shower — rain
  18. bay — a part of the sea

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