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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 120 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: club · hand · stick · mate · bound · chair · board · land

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. hand — help
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. club — a group
  5. land — to come down
  6. mate — a friend
  7. board — a committee
  8. bound — certain
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mate — a partner
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. chair — a leader
  14. land — ground
  15. bound — tied together
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. mate — to breed
  19. board — to get on
  20. club — for golf
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. land — a country

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