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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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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: shower · wake · game · perch · straw · march · bound · object

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. bound — obliged
  3. game — wild animals
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. object — to protest
  9. march — music
  10. shower — rain
  11. march — the month
  12. shower — to wash
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. object — an aim
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bound — tied together
  22. march — the month
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bound — certain

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