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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 120 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: wound · lie · vault · shower · degree · bore · wind · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bore — to tire
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bore — to drill
  14. row — a line
  15. shower — rain
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. degree — an amount
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — a safe
  24. lie — an untruth

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