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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: clip · wake · pitcher · file · cabinet · bound · march · pound

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. march — the month
  8. bound — certain
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. file — a tool
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. clip — a video
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bound — obliged
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pound — a weight

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