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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: mark · shower · bark · capital · lash · bound · file · mouse

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bound — obliged
  4. mark — a trace
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. shower — rain
  9. capital — a city
  10. file — a document
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. file — a tool
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bound — certain
  15. bark — to shout
  16. capital — money
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. shower — to wash
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mark — a grade

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