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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: cell · bound · cue · march · lash · game · cold · prune

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. march — the month
  3. bound — tied together
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bound — certain
  6. march — music
  7. game — a match
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. march — the month
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. game — wild animals
  22. prune — to trim
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cell — in a prison

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