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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: season · capital · straw · game · track · wound · saw · bound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bound — certain
  3. season — of the year
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. track — a path
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. capital — money
  8. saw — the tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bound — obliged
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. track — to keep track
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bound — tied together
  17. season — in sport
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. track — a song
  23. game — a match
  24. straw — dry grass

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