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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 116 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: file · bark · bound · wind · chip · club · spring · pop

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. spring — of water
  3. file — a tool
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pop — soda
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pop — music
  8. club — for golf
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wind — moving air
  12. file — a document
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a line of people
  21. club — a group
  22. bound — certain
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wind — to turn a key

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