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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 · cold · field · cap · wave · snap · pop · roll

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. roll — a cake
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bound — obliged
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bound — certain
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pop — to visit
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cap — of ice
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pop — music
  17. roll — a list
  18. snap — to click
  19. pop — soda
  20. field — a subject
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. field — farmland

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