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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: wound · march · scale · bank · game · wave · bound · clip

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — tied together
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bank — of a river
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bound — certain
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wound — an injury
  12. scale — in music
  13. march — music
  14. bank — for money
  15. clip — a video
  16. scale — size or range
  17. game — a match
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bank — for money
  22. wound — an injury
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. clip — to cut

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