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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: mine · squash · chest · march · bound · land · cabinet · court

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. land — a country
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. court — of a king
  11. land — to come down
  12. bound — certain
  13. court — of law
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. march — the month
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bound — obliged
  20. court — for sport
  21. march — the month
  22. bound — tied together
  23. land — ground
  24. mine — for digging

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