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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: chair · bound · wind · rock · branch · pop · degree · row

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. rock — a stone
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rock — music
  7. pop — music
  8. branch — a division
  9. row — a line
  10. degree — from a university
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wind — moving air
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. degree — an amount
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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