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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: bark · bound · wind · hand · mine · ruler · jam · season

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. bound — obliged
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bound — tied together
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. bound — certain
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. season — in sport
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. bark — to shout

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