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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · tear · bark · bound · degree · wind · cabinet · rash

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bound — obliged
  5. rash — a series
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bound — tied together
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bound — certain
  15. shower — rain
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bark — to shout
  24. degree — from a university

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