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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: cell · lean · cold · face · rule · mug · bound · row

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. row — a line
  4. mug — a face
  5. face — part of the head
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mug — to rob
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bound — obliged
  12. face — to confront
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bound — certain
  17. row — to paddle
  18. face — to point toward
  19. lean — thin
  20. rule — a law
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cold — an illness
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. rule — government

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