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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 · squash · last · coach · march · kid · straw · deal

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — to tease
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. kid — child
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. march — the month
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. squash — to crush
  17. last — final
  18. squash — the sport
  19. march — music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bound — obliged
  23. deal — a big deal
  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