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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: cold · bound · saw · spring · ground · wind · rock · pop

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — certain
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spring — of water
  7. pop — music
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rock — music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spring — the season
  14. ground — a position
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pop — soda
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bound — tied together
  21. ground — crushed
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pop — to visit
  24. saw — the tool

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