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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: pound · bound · wound · bank · mine · clip · craft · kid

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — child
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bound — tied together
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bank — for money
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. clip — a video
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. craft — a skill
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bound — obliged
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kid — to tease
  19. craft — boats
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bound — certain
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — of a river
  24. pound — for dogs

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