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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: rule · bound · ground · rock · shower · tear · cabinet · wound

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. ground — the earth
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bound — obliged
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — certain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. rule — government
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rule — a law
  18. ground — a position
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. tear — from crying

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