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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 116 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: march · board · key · field · hand · cap · bound · chip

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. board — a committee
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bound — certain
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. key — in music
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bound — tied together
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — to get on
  12. cap — a hat
  13. field — farmland
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — for betting
  16. hand — help
  17. march — the month
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bound — obliged
  21. field — a subject
  22. hand — in cards
  23. march — the month
  24. field — for sport

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