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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: arm · bound · squash · last · wound · fork · wind · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. staff — employees
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wound — an injury
  13. squash — the sport
  14. last — to go on
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — to crush
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. fork — in a road
  24. arm — part of the body

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