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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 120 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: fork · bound · bowl · bay · cold · wind · plane · chair

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. wind — moving air
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. plane — a tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bowl — to roll
  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