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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: bowl · march · kid · dip · capital · bound · ball · chest

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — child
  6. chest — of your body
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bound — obliged
  12. kid — to tease
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. ball — a great time
  20. capital — a city
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. chest — a box
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — to roll

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