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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: ball · wake · bound · plane · wound · rest · cap · land

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bound — obliged
  5. land — ground
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. land — to come down
  12. plane — a tool
  13. rest — a break
  14. wound — an injury
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bound — certain
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wound — an injury
  24. land — a country

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