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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · land · club · pop · wind · scale · bound · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bound — tied together
  3. land — to come down
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. scale — size or range
  7. club — for golf
  8. land — a country
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bound — obliged
  11. club — for dancing
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — music
  16. land — ground
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mine — for digging
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. club — a group
  21. bound — certain
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. scale — in 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