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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: bound · pound · game · cue · wind · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bound — tied together
  5. pound — a weight
  6. game — a match
  7. bound — certain
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cue — a signal
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wind — moving air
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cue — for pool
  18. wind — moving air

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