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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kid — child
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rock — music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bound — certain
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bound — obliged
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. rock — a stone
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. last — final
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wound — an injury
  23. last — to go on
  24. march — the month

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