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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: stem · saw · leaves · bound · coach · squash · cold · wound

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wound — an injury
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. squash — to crush
  7. saw — the tool
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bound — certain
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. coach — a trainer

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