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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: current · squash · fork · lean · roll · mug · cell · bound

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — of water
  4. lean — to bend
  5. current — electric
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mug — a face
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. mug — a cup
  10. cell — in biology
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. mug — to rob
  13. lean — thin
  14. bound — tied together
  15. roll — a list
  16. roll — a cake
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bound — obliged
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bound — certain
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. fork — in a road

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