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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: bound · hide · club · shower · spell · rule · bass · roll

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. club — for golf
  3. bass — the fish
  4. club — for dancing
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rule — government
  7. spell — magic
  8. club — a group
  9. roll — a cake
  10. rule — a law
  11. shower — rain
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. spell — letters
  16. bound — certain
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bass — low music
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bound — tied together
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bound — obliged

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