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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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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 · prune · bank · wave · bound · ground · rash · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. ground — the earth
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ground — a position
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bound — certain
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bank — for money
  13. rash — a series
  14. bank — of a river
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bank — for money
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ground — crushed
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bound — tied together

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