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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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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: track · season · shower · lie · mine · bound · last · pop

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. lie — to recline
  3. last — to go on
  4. pop — music
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bound — certain
  10. track — a song
  11. mine — for digging
  12. track — a path
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. season — in sport
  15. last — finally
  16. season — of the year
  17. shower — to wash
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bound — tied together
  22. last — final
  23. pop — to visit
  24. bound — obliged

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