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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: cabinet · game · cold · capital · fine · bound · squash · leaves

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bound — tied together
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fine — all right
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bound — obliged
  15. fine — high quality
  16. capital — a city
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. capital — money
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bound — certain
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. game — a match
  24. capital — a big letter

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