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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 · ball · wound · saw · mug · cap · cabinet · chest

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mug — a face
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mug — a cup
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cap — a lid
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mug — to rob
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chest — a box
  24. ball — a round shape

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