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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: firm · pound · rule · chair · bound · cell · wound · wind

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. firm — decided
  3. bound — certain
  4. rule — government
  5. bound — tied together
  6. firm — a company
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pound — a weight
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. firm — steady
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bound — obliged
  23. rule — a law
  24. chair — a professorship

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