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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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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: deal · squash · cell · arm · cold · bound · bulb · stick

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — certain
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. squash — to crush
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. squash — the sport
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cell — in biology
  19. deal — to handle
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. squash — the vegetable

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