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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · ground · pop · perch · pass · bound · wound · cell

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bound — certain
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pop — music
  5. bound — tied together
  6. march — music
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pop — to visit
  18. ground — the earth
  19. march — the month
  20. ground — a position
  21. march — the month
  22. cell — a phone
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cell — in biology

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