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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: wind · tear · bound · game · net · chair · cabinet · arm

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. net — in sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bound — tied together
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bound — obliged
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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