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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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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 · scale · straw · wound · calf · bound · club · fine

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. march — music
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fine — high quality
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. march — the month
  9. club — for golf
  10. march — the month
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. club — a group
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bound — certain
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fine — all right
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bound — obliged
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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