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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: pop · snap · bound · spring · cell · squash · ruler · wind

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. pop — soda
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. squash — the sport
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. spring — of water
  13. bound — certain
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pop — music
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. snap — to click
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bound — obliged
  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