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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 · can · staff · bound · bat · lie · kick · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bound — certain
  3. staff — employees
  4. march — the month
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. bat — the animal
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. game — a match
  12. bound — tied together
  13. march — music
  14. lie — to recline
  15. can — a tin
  16. bound — obliged
  17. march — the month
  18. staff — employees
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. staff — a stick
  24. kick — a thrill

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