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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 · march · lean · cold · squash · craft · fall · bound

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bound — tied together
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. craft — a skill
  13. lean — thin
  14. march — the month
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fall — the season
  17. squash — the sport
  18. craft — boats
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bound — obliged
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — to rest against
  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