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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 · bear · trunk · saw · pound · net · bound · object

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. object — to protest
  9. bound — obliged
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. net — in sport
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. object — a thing
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. saw — the tool
  23. net — for catching
  24. object — an aim

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