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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: content · bound · wound · degree · bank · file · shower · bay

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — from a university
  5. content — happy
  6. bank — of a river
  7. degree — temperature
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bank — for money
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bank — for money
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. content — the amount
  16. file — a document
  17. wound — an injury
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. file — a tool
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bound — obliged
  22. shower — rain
  23. bound — certain
  24. file — a line of people

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