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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 · rule · wind · wound · bat · dip · bore · bound

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bore — to tire
  3. shower — rain
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. bound — obliged
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wound — an injury
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bound — certain
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wind — moving air

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