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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: face · bound · march · net · mate · kick · roll · cold

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bound — obliged
  3. march — the month
  4. bound — tied together
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. mate — a friend
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mate — a partner
  15. kick — in football
  16. face — to point toward
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — an illness
  19. net — after costs
  20. roll — a list
  21. bound — certain
  22. face — to confront
  23. mate — to breed
  24. face — part of the head

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