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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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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 · wake · cap · wave · march · court · ground · roll

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bound — certain
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cap — a lid
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. roll — a list
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wake — a trail
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bound — tied together
  17. court — of a king
  18. ground — a position
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. roll — a cake
  22. march — music
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a hat

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