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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: squash · cold · trunk · bound · spell · band · perch · bay

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. band — a music group
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bound — tied together
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. perch — the fish
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. band — a ring
  19. squash — to crush
  20. spell — letters
  21. squash — the sport
  22. spell — magic
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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