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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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 · bound · wind · content · can · degree · squash · hide

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. march — the month
  5. can — a tin
  6. march — music
  7. wind — moving air
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. wind — moving air
  11. squash — the sport
  12. content — happy
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. march — the month
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bound — certain
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bound — tied together
  22. degree — temperature
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bound — obliged

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