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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: net · shower · squash · pitch · bore · bark · spell · bound

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. spell — a short time
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bore — to drill
  5. squash — the sport
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bore — to tire
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bound — certain
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. shower — rain
  18. bark — to shout
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. net — in sport
  22. bound — tied together
  23. net — for catching
  24. bound — obliged

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