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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: wind · hand · bound · jam · field · board · pop · clip

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. field — for sport
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — to cut
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. field — farmland
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. board — to get on
  14. hand — in cards
  15. board — a committee
  16. pop — music
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. field — a subject
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bound — tied together
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bound — certain

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