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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: shower · bound · bay · lie · bark · pitcher · branch · fine

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bound — tied together
  5. fine — high quality
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bound — obliged
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. bark — to shout
  13. fine — all right
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bound — certain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. shower — rain
  24. lie — an untruth

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