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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: pit · wind · rush · capital · roll · bound · fork · chest

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  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. roll — a list
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bound — obliged
  4. capital — money
  5. chest — of your body
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pit — a hole
  9. bound — tied together
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. roll — a cake
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bound — certain
  17. pit — in a race
  18. chest — a box
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. capital — a city
  23. rush — hurry
  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