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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: fall · bark · court · bulb · bound · date · stock · shower

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fall — to drop
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. court — of law
  5. fall — the season
  6. bound — certain
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. court — for sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bound — tied together
  18. court — of a king
  19. bark — to shout
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. bulb — for light

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