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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 · hand · pop · cap · roll · suit · last · bound

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. suit — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bound — tied together
  6. pop — music
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. last — final
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bound — obliged
  13. last — to go on
  14. suit — clothes
  15. roll — a cake
  16. pop — to visit
  17. roll — a list
  18. bound — certain
  19. cold — an illness
  20. suit — to fit
  21. pop — soda
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cap — a lid

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