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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 116 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: perch · bound · ball · current · wind · shower · wound · bulb

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ball — a dance
  5. current — of water
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bulb — for light
  9. current — electric
  10. bound — certain
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bulb — for light
  13. current — happening now
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — tied together
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bound — obliged
  22. perch — the fish
  23. wound — an injury
  24. shower — rain

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