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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: wind · wound · wake · roll · race · shower · band · fork

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. shower — to wash
  3. race — humankind
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. wind — moving air
  12. band — a ring
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — a list
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. shower — rain
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. fork — to eat with

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