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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: bound · hand · bowl · cap · mug · present · march · straw

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mug — a face
  5. present — there
  6. bound — tied together
  7. march — the month
  8. present — the time now
  9. mug — to rob
  10. cap — of ice
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bound — certain
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. march — music
  17. bound — obliged
  18. march — the month
  19. mug — a cup
  20. present — a gift
  21. hand — in cards
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. hand — help

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