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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: cabinet · cell · club · wake · capital · bound · wound · kick

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bound — obliged
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. capital — a city
  17. kick — in football
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. club — a group
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bound — certain

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