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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: ground · calf · wound · wake · ball · hand · wind · bound

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wake — a trail
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bound — tied together
  6. ground — a position
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bound — obliged
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bound — certain
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wound — an injury
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ground — crushed

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