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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: cold · root · key · bound · stand · mouse · kid · mine

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — certain
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — to bear
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. key — the most important part
  12. bound — tied together
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. root — of a word
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. root — of a plant
  18. mine — for digging
  19. root — the cause
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cold — not warm
  22. key — in music
  23. key — for a lock
  24. kid — child

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