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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 · cold · ground · fan · bound · bear · season · leaves

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pop — music
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pop — soda
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. ground — crushed
  9. season — in sport
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bound — tied together
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cold — not warm
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. pop — to visit
  16. ground — a position
  17. bound — certain
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bear — the animal
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bound — obliged
  24. season — of the year

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