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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 116 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: lean · object · band · pop · leaves · bound · cold · wind

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. band — a music group
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pop — music
  7. bound — certain
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. lean — thin
  10. cold — an illness
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. object — an aim
  13. band — a ring
  14. object — to protest
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bound — tied together
  18. object — a thing
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pop — soda
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lean — to bend

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