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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: field · shower · bore · row · track · wind · snap · bound

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bound — certain
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bound — tied together
  5. track — a path
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. row — to paddle
  10. shower — to wash
  11. field — for sport
  12. snap — to click
  13. track — to keep track
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bore — to drill
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. field — farmland
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wind — moving air
  21. field — a subject
  22. bound — obliged
  23. track — a song
  24. row — a line

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