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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 120 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: bound · cell · hide · fall · arm · saw · object · cold

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — an illness
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. object — an aim
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bound — obliged
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. fall — the season
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. object — to protest
  16. cold — not warm
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cell — a phone
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bound — tied together
  21. object — a thing
  22. bound — certain
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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