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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: pop · wake · wind · game · swing · coach · bound · current

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bound — tied together
  5. wind — moving air
  6. game — a match
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. current — happening now
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. swing — in golf
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bound — certain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pop — to visit
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bound — obliged
  24. swing — music

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