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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: present · bat · last · coach · bound · club · key · wind

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — obliged
  9. club — for golf
  10. wind — moving air
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bat — the animal
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. club — for dancing
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — in music
  18. last — to go on
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. present — a gift
  21. club — a group
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. present — the time now
  24. wind — moving air

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