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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 116 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: deal · march · wake · capital · mug · bound · track · kid

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bound — tied together
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. march — the month
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. mug — to rob
  8. track — a song
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mug — a face
  11. capital — money
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bound — certain
  14. wake — a trail
  15. march — the month
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. track — to keep track
  18. kid — child
  19. track — a path
  20. bound — obliged
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a city
  24. mug — a cup

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