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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: lie · march · bound · craft · pop · cold · net · mark

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bound — obliged
  3. craft — a skill
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bound — certain
  7. net — in sport
  8. mark — a grade
  9. march — the month
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mark — a trace
  12. net — for catching
  13. pop — music
  14. craft — boats
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. lie — to recline
  17. pop — soda
  18. cold — an illness
  19. net — after costs
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. march — music
  24. bound — tied together

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