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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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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 · swing · club · bound · rule · wound · shower · bore

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. shower — rain
  3. club — a group
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bore — to drill
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bound — tied together
  10. club — for dancing
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rule — a law
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. club — for golf
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bound — certain
  24. swing — music

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