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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: bound · race · pit · pop · wound · march · season · land

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. land — a country
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — in a race
  5. season — of the year
  6. race — a contest
  7. march — music
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. march — the month
  10. land — ground
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bound — certain
  14. land — to come down
  15. pop — soda
  16. bound — obliged
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — in sport
  19. bound — tied together
  20. race — humankind
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — music
  23. march — the month
  24. wound — an injury

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