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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 120 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: wind · plane · chest · rush · perch · staff · field · bound

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. field — a subject
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bound — tied together
  5. perch — the fish
  6. field — farmland
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rush — hurry
  9. staff — employees
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — of your body
  13. field — for sport
  14. bound — obliged
  15. chest — a box
  16. staff — a stick
  17. chest — of your body
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wind — moving air
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bound — certain

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