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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: bulb · bay · race · shower · bound · rush · wound · kid

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bound — obliged
  4. race — humankind
  5. kid — child
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. kid — to tease
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bound — certain
  13. shower — rain
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bulb — for light
  17. rush — hurry
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bulb — for light
  22. race — a contest
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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