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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: chest · bound · chair · bark · wound · deal · track · prune

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bound — obliged
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bound — certain
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chest — a box
  11. wound — an injury
  12. track — a path
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chest — of your body
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bound — tied together
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bark — to shout
  21. track — to keep track
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. track — a song

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