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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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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 · row · bark · mine · march · stick · wind · bound

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bound — certain
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bark — to shout
  5. row — to paddle
  6. march — the month
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wind — moving air
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bound — tied together
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bound — obliged
  23. row — a line
  24. cell — a phone

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