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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 · land · march · wind · ball · jam · club · stand

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. stand — to bear
  4. march — music
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. club — for golf
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bound — certain
  16. march — the month
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. club — a group
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. club — for dancing
  22. march — the month
  23. land — ground
  24. wind — moving air

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