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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: bark · band · lie · pit · bound · shower · face · mug

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mug — a face
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bound — certain
  5. band — a ring
  6. mug — a cup
  7. shower — rain
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pit — in a race
  10. bark — to shout
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. face — to confront
  16. pit — a hole
  17. mug — to rob
  18. band — a music group
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — tied together

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