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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 · row · wound · board · chest · staff · pit · squash

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bound — obliged
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pit — in a race
  5. staff — a stick
  6. squash — to crush
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bound — certain
  11. wound — an injury
  12. staff — employees
  13. pit — a hole
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chest — a box
  17. staff — employees
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. chest — of your body
  20. board — a committee
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. wound — an injury
  23. board — to get on
  24. chest — of your body

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