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

Word bank: bound · court · rush · pit · wind · band

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wind — moving air
  5. court — for sport
  6. pit — in a race
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. band — a ring
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. pit — a hole
  12. court — of a king
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bound — certain
  15. band — a music group
  16. bound — tied together
  17. court — of law
  18. bound — obliged

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