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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: clip · current · pound · prune · bound · bore · mug · shower

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bound — obliged
  4. current — of water
  5. prune — to trim
  6. shower — rain
  7. mug — a cup
  8. clip — to cut
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pound — a weight
  11. mug — a face
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bound — tied together
  15. clip — a video
  16. bore — to drill
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mug — to rob
  21. bound — certain
  22. clip — for paper
  23. current — happening now
  24. pound — for dogs

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