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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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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: chest · bound · wind · mouse · cabinet · drill · row · land

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chest — a box
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. row — to paddle
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — the tool
  8. land — to come down
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. row — a line
  16. bound — certain
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. drill — army training
  24. chest — of your body

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