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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: chest · field · coach · rash · pound · wind · arm · bound

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wind — moving air
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bound — certain
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — a subject
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. field — farmland
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bound — tied together
  15. field — for sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pound — a weight
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. rash — a series
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wind — to turn a key

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