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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: wake · drill · bound · chip · wound · field · bank · race

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wound — an injury
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bound — tied together
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bound — obliged
  7. field — a subject
  8. chip — for betting
  9. drill — a practice
  10. race — a contest
  11. drill — army training
  12. chip — to eat
  13. race — humankind
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bank — for money
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bank — for money
  20. field — for sport
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bank — of a river
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. field — farmland

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