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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: march · mine · lean · arm · pop · bound · spell · pound

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. march — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pop — to visit
  11. spell — a short time
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bound — tied together
  14. march — the month
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. march — the month
  17. spell — letters
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — certain
  21. spell — magic
  22. pound — a weight
  23. lean — to bend
  24. pop — music

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