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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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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: hand · wind · bound · drill · bear · game · staff · bark

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — help
  4. bark — to shout
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bound — certain
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. staff — employees
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. staff — a stick
  17. game — a match
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wind — moving air
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bound — tied together

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