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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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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: chest · bound · lash · wind · march · key · present · ground

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bound — certain
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chest — of your body
  8. key — for a lock
  9. bound — obliged
  10. wind — moving air
  11. present — there
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. march — the month
  17. present — a gift
  18. march — music
  19. key — the most important part
  20. chest — a box
  21. key — in music
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. ground — a position
  24. march — the month

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