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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: saw · cold · sharp · bound · march · squash · ball · kick

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bound — obliged
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cold — not warm
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. ball — a great time
  7. march — the month
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. saw — the tool
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. ball — a dance
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bound — tied together
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cold — an illness
  24. kick — in football

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