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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: prune · bound · mug · key · wind · bark · hand · shower

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mug — a cup
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bound — tied together
  11. key — in music
  12. prune — to trim
  13. key — for a lock
  14. shower — rain
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. hand — help
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. mug — a face
  20. shower — to wash
  21. key — the most important part
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. 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