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

Word bank: deal · land · hand · sharp · object · march · ball · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. bound — tied together
  2. land — to come down
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. object — to protest
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. land — a country
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a great time
  10. land — ground
  11. object — a thing
  12. march — music
  13. object — an aim
  14. bound — obliged
  15. sharp — clever
  16. deal — to handle
  17. march — the month
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. bound — certain
  23. ball — a dance
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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