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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: coach · bound · bore · saw · shower · fall · row · kid

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. kid — to tease
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fall — the season
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fall — to drop
  8. saw — the tool
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bound — certain
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bore — to tire
  13. saw — the tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bore — to drill
  18. shower — rain
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. kid — child
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bore — gave birth

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