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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 116 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: net · bound · mate · club · wound · land · drill · pound

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. mate — to breed
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. club — for dancing
  5. mate — a friend
  6. land — a country
  7. bound — obliged
  8. net — for catching
  9. bound — certain
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. net — after costs
  13. drill — a practice
  14. club — a group
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mate — a partner
  19. wound — an injury
  20. club — for golf
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. bound — tied together
  24. net — in sport

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