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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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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: band · deal · last · coach · shower · pound · bound · sharp

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bound — certain
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. last — to go on
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bound — obliged
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bound — tied together
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. shower — to wash
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. shower — rain
  15. band — a ring
  16. pound — a weight
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. last — finally
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. band — a music group
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. last — final

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