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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: march · bound · rock · chest · board · field · nail · bear

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. field — farmland
  3. bound — obliged
  4. chest — of your body
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. board — a committee
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. march — music
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bound — tied together
  11. march — the month
  12. chest — a box
  13. board — to get on
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. rock — music
  18. march — the month
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bound — certain
  21. field — for sport
  22. rock — a stone
  23. field — a subject
  24. bear — the animal

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