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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 116 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 · hand · bass · fan · nail · cap · kid · bound

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bass — the fish
  3. cap — a lid
  4. shower — rain
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — to wash
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bass — low music
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bound — tied together
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cap — of ice
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. kid — child
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cap — a hat
  24. nail — for a hammer

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