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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: chair · capital · bound · chest · squash · mark · lie · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. march — the month
  4. chest — a box
  5. squash — the sport
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bound — tied together
  8. chair — a leader
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. march — the month
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bound — obliged
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. capital — a city
  15. bound — certain
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. lie — to recline
  20. mark — a grade
  21. squash — to crush
  22. mark — a trace
  23. capital — money
  24. chair — to sit on

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