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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: bank · cell · squash · bound · chip · rash · ground · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rash — hasty
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. rash — a series
  13. bank — for money
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cold — not warm
  16. squash — to crush
  17. chip — for betting
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. squash — the sport
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bound — obliged
  24. ground — a position

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