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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: wake · vault · land · can · bound · ball · march · wound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. can — to be able to
  3. wound — an injury
  4. land — ground
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. vault — a safe
  8. can — a tin
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. bound — tied together
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bound — certain
  19. ball — a great time
  20. can — a tin
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. march — music
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. march — the month

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