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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: bound · press · track · content · mate · board · bark · wind

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. press — a publisher
  5. board — a committee
  6. track — a path
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mate — a partner
  9. wind — moving air
  10. content — the amount
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. press — to push
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bound — certain
  16. press — newspapers
  17. mate — a friend
  18. content — happy
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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