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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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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 · stick · cold · bound · tear · mouse · bowl · cell

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bound — certain
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. squash — to crush
  24. tear — to rip

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