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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: wake · bound · pitch · wind · chest · pound · rest · roll

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bound — certain
  7. chest — a box
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rest — a break
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a list
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitch — completely
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. roll — a cake
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pound — a weight

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