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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bound · wound · board · row · land · ball · march · mine

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. row — a line
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wound — an injury
  8. march — music
  9. mine — for digging
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. board — a committee
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. march — the month
  15. land — ground
  16. bound — certain
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. march — the month
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. wound — an injury
  24. board — a flat piece

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