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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: land · bound · wound · bank · cap · shower · straw · plane

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. land — a country
  3. cap — of ice
  4. shower — to wash
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. land — ground
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bound — certain
  10. plane — a tool
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bank — for money
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — obliged
  16. shower — rain
  17. land — to come down
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bank — for money
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wound — an injury

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