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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: swing · face · march · bound · wind · mine · cap · wound

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bound — tied together
  3. face — to point toward
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. face — to confront
  7. march — the month
  8. wound — an injury
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — a hat
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wound — an injury
  14. march — music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bound — obliged
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bound — certain
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wind — moving air

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