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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 120 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: bulb · coach · bowl · chest · kid · pop · march · bound

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. march — music
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. chest — of your body
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. pop — to visit
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pop — soda
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bulb — for light
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chest — a box
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pop — music
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bound — certain

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