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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 120 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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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: mate · deal · cold · board · bound · kick · march · nail

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bound — certain
  3. board — a committee
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. deal — to handle
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. march — the month
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bound — obliged
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. board — to get on
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. march — the month
  18. bound — tied together
  19. march — music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. kick — in football
  22. mate — a partner
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. kick — with a leg

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