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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 120 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: mine · saw · temple · shower · net · bound · bat · pound

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. shower — rain
  3. mine — for digging
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. net — in sport
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bound — certain
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bound — obliged
  15. net — for catching
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bat — the animal
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. net — after costs

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