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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 120 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: hand · shower · pound · bound · leaves · mine · bowl · face

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. hand — in cards
  3. shower — rain
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. face — to confront
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bound — tied together
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bound — certain
  21. hand — help
  22. face — to point toward
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mine — an explosive

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