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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: kick · march · jam · bound · press · wind · game · object

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — an aim
  5. wind — moving air
  6. march — the month
  7. wind — moving air
  8. march — music
  9. press — to push
  10. kick — in football
  11. bound — tied together
  12. press — a publisher
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. march — the month
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. game — wild animals
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bound — certain
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. wind — to turn a key

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