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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 120 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: stem · tube · bowl · bear · cold · bound

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. tube — a container
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bound — obliged
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bound — tied together
  7. stem — to come from
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bound — certain
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cold — not warm

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