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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. spring — a coil
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bulb — for light
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. spring — the season
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spring — of water
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bound — obliged
  24. straw — a straw man

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