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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: wound · wave · wind · saw · drill · bank · shower · pound

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bank — for money
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bank — of a river
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. drill — the tool
  16. shower — rain
  17. drill — army training
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bank — for money
  24. drill — a practice

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