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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 · shower · bark · content · temple · wound · mate · fork

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. fork — in a road
  3. bound — obliged
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bound — tied together
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bark — to shout
  16. shower — rain
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mate — to breed
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bound — certain
  24. fork — a garden tool

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