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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: bound · land · saw · shower · jam · bulb · date · hand

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. hand — help
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. bound — obliged
  5. land — a country
  6. bulb — for light
  7. saw — the tool
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bulb — for light
  12. date — the fruit
  13. land — to come down
  14. bound — certain
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bound — tied together
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. shower — to wash
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. land — ground

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