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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 · bowl · last · kick · wind · cell

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bound — certain
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cell — a phone
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. kick — in football
  8. last — final
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — to roll

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