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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: wind · wake · saw · bound · scale · chest · game · bark

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. chest — a box
  3. wind — moving air
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bound — certain
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bound — tied together
  19. chest — of your body
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wake — a trail
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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