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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: dip · saw · bound · cold · mate · deal · wound · wake

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bound — certain
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bound — obliged
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cold — not warm
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cold — an illness
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mate — a friend
  15. deal — to handle
  16. mate — to breed
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bound — tied together
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wake — a trail
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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