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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: tube · bound · cold · season · toast · hand · drill · ball

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a great time
  3. toast — bread
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bound — certain
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. season — of the year
  8. tube — a container
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. drill — the tool
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. season — in sport
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cold — not warm
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. ball — a dance
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bound — obliged
  21. cold — an illness
  22. tube — the underground
  23. drill — army training
  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