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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: nail · cap · date · bound · land · pound · shower · hand

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bound — certain
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. shower — rain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. land — ground
  12. cap — of ice
  13. date — the fruit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cap — a lid
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. land — a country
  22. cap — a hat
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. land — to come down

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