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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: wound · face · track · saw · row · cell · ball · bound

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. face — to confront
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bound — certain
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bound — tied together
  7. track — to keep track
  8. saw — the tool
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a dance
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. saw — the tool
  15. row — to paddle
  16. track — a path
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. face — part of the head
  20. track — a song
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bound — obliged
  23. cell — in biology
  24. row — a line

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