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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 120 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: cold · pound · bound · nail · march · face · cabinet · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spell — letters
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bound — certain
  11. march — the month
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. bound — obliged
  14. face — to point toward
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cold — an illness
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. face — to confront
  24. bound — tied together

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