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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 116 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: shower · ground · row · leaves · drill · bound · wake · stick

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. ground — the earth
  7. drill — the tool
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ground — a position
  18. bound — certain
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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