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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bound — tied together
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bound — certain
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pound — a weight
  8. spell — magic
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — letters
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. saw — the tool
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. saw — the tool
  17. key — for a lock
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. band — a music group
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bound — obliged
  24. band — a rubber band

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