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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: band · craft · suit · march · board · squash · bound · cell

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. squash — to crush
  4. board — a committee
  5. band — a ring
  6. suit — clothes
  7. squash — the sport
  8. board — to get on
  9. bound — obliged
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. craft — a skill
  12. band — a music group
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cell — a phone
  15. craft — boats
  16. march — music
  17. suit — in cards
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. march — the month
  20. suit — to fit
  21. bound — tied together
  22. march — the month
  23. bound — certain
  24. cell — in biology

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