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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: bank · chest · chair · saw · roll · wound · court · pound

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bank — for money
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. chest — of your body
  8. roll — a list
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. court — for sport
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chest — of your body
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bank — for money
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. roll — a cake

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