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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 120 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: wind · track · wound · saw · club · arm · kid · bear

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. club — a group
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. club — for golf
  12. kid — child
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. saw — the tool
  15. track — a path
  16. club — for dancing
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wind — moving air
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kid — to tease

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