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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: shower · nail · perch · bulb · jam · file · degree · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. bound — certain
  7. bulb — for light
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. bulb — for light
  12. perch — the fish
  13. shower — rain
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. degree — temperature
  16. file — a tool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bound — tied together
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. degree — an amount
  24. shower — to wash

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