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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: hand · hide · sharp · roll · capital · march · wound · bay

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hand — help
  3. roll — a list
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. capital — money
  6. roll — a cake
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. march — the month
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. march — music
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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