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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.

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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: last · dip · bound · kick · march · band · ball · kid

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. last — final
  3. ball — a great time
  4. last — to go on
  5. bound — tied together
  6. band — a ring
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. march — music
  11. ball — a dance
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. band — a music group
  15. last — finally
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. kid — child
  20. bound — obliged
  21. march — the month
  22. kid — to tease
  23. march — the month
  24. bound — certain

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