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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: sharp · cap · squash · march · last · wind · cell · bound

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. bound — certain
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. cap — a hat
  4. last — final
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bound — obliged
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. squash — the sport
  9. march — music
  10. cap — a lid
  11. march — the month
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. last — finally
  16. march — the month
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — to go on
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cap — of ice
  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