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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: bound · cap · wind · club · mine · row · patient · land

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. land — to come down
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bound — obliged
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — for digging
  8. club — a group
  9. land — a country
  10. cap — a lid
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cap — of ice
  13. club — for golf
  14. row — a line
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cap — a hat
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bound — tied together
  19. club — for dancing
  20. land — ground
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wind — moving air

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