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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: band · wound · land · pop · drill · bound · club · lie

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. wound — an injury
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. drill — the tool
  5. lie — to recline
  6. pop — to visit
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pop — music
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — tied together
  12. club — for dancing
  13. pop — soda
  14. club — a group
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. club — for golf
  17. land — to come down
  18. drill — army training
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a music group
  23. drill — a practice
  24. band — a ring

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