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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: foot · chest · wind · bound · hand · pound

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. hand — help
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. bound — certain
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pound — a weight
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — a box
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bound — tied together
  15. chest — of your body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. pound — to hit hard

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