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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: cell · bound · tube · staff · ground · wound · saw · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wound — an injury
  3. staff — a stick
  4. saw — the tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bound — obliged
  8. ground — a position
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. ground — the earth
  11. tube — a container
  12. cell — a phone
  13. staff — employees
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bound — tied together
  18. ground — crushed
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bowl — a football final
  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