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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: hand · object · present · bound · drill · wind · trunk · shower

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. shower — to wash
  3. drill — a practice
  4. object — a thing
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. present — the time now
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bound — obliged
  10. object — to protest
  11. wind — moving air
  12. present — there
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. present — a gift
  17. drill — army training
  18. wind — moving air
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. object — an aim
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — in cards

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