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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: spring · bark · game · mug · shower · bound · wax · pop

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. mug — to rob
  3. bound — tied together
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pop — soda
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. mug — a face
  12. spring — of water
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. shower — rain
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pop — music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. game — a match
  23. mug — a cup
  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