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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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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 · wake · band · bound · date · ground · cabinet · wave

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. band — a ring
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. date — the fruit
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. ground — the earth
  9. band — a music group
  10. march — music
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. march — the month
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bound — certain
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bound — tied together
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bound — obliged
  21. march — the month
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. ground — crushed

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