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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 116 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: bound · present · cabinet · pitcher · march · wound · ground · stick

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bound — tied together
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. march — the month
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bound — obliged
  10. ground — crushed
  11. march — the month
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bound — certain
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. ground — a position
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wound — an injury
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. march — music
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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