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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 116 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: wind · stand · shower · lie · bark · kick · game · bound

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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. wind — to turn a key
  2. shower — to wash
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. lie — to recline
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bound — obliged
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stand — to bear
  21. shower — rain
  22. game — a match
  23. kick — in football
  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