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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: bowl · field · band · bore · roll · content · bound · shower

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. band — a music group
  6. bound — certain
  7. bore — to tire
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. bore — to drill
  12. content — the amount
  13. shower — rain
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. field — a subject
  16. bound — obliged
  17. content — happy
  18. roll — a list
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. band — a ring
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bound — tied together

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