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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: jam · bound · can · trunk · foot · cold · march · field

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. can — a tin
  3. field — a subject
  4. bound — tied together
  5. cold — an illness
  6. foot — a measure
  7. march — the month
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. cold — not warm
  10. field — farmland
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. can — a tin
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bound — certain
  19. march — music
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. march — the month
  22. field — for sport
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cold — the Cold War

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