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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: chair · bat · pop · bound · mate · wind · branch · bowl

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pop — to visit
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mate — a partner
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. mate — a friend
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — the animal

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