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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: wind · dip · fork · hand · shower · key · content · bound

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. bound — obliged
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. dip — to sink
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. fork — in a road
  15. shower — to wash
  16. key — in music
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. shower — rain
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bound — tied together
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bound — certain

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