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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 · bound · coach · bat · wind · leaves · saw

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bound — obliged
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — moving air
  13. saw — the tool
  14. face — to confront
  15. bat — the animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bound — certain
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. saw — the tool
  21. face — part of the head
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. leaves — of a tree

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