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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: squash · bound · march · lean · clip · scale · club · cabinet

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bound — certain
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. scale — size or range
  5. lean — thin
  6. club — for golf
  7. clip — for paper
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bound — obliged
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. club — for dancing
  15. march — the month
  16. bound — tied together
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lean — to bend
  19. scale — in music
  20. clip — a video
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. march — music
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. club — a group

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