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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: bound · bass · wound · bear · rush · squash · wind · row

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bear — the animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wind — moving air
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. rush — hurry
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — certain
  16. row — a line
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bound — tied together
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bass — low music

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