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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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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: bound · tear · leaves · ball · spell · cold · roll · chest

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. roll — a list
  3. bound — tied together
  4. spell — letters
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. ball — a dance
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spell — a short time
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. chest — of your body
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bound — certain
  14. roll — a cake
  15. spell — magic
  16. bound — obliged
  17. chest — a box
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cold — an illness
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. ball — a great time
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. 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