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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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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: bank · shower · wind · bound · nail · ground · last · calf

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. ground — a position
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bound — certain
  10. wind — moving air
  11. last — to go on
  12. bound — obliged
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bank — for money
  19. last — final
  20. bank — for money
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bound — tied together
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. bank — of a river

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