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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: chair · suit · wound · field · bound · foot · wake · trunk

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. field — farmland
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. field — for sport
  8. suit — clothes
  9. suit — to fit
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. foot — a measure
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bound — certain
  18. field — a subject
  19. bound — obliged
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. suit — in cards
  22. wake — a trail
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bound — tied together

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