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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 116 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: saw · cabinet · wind · wound · board · bore · last · cold

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bore — to tire
  4. board — a committee
  5. last — to go on
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cold — an illness
  9. last — final
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bore — to drill
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. saw — the tool
  21. last — finally
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. board — to get on

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