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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: can · cold · dip · prune · squash · mine · game · bound

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cold — an illness
  3. prune — to trim
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. mine — for digging
  7. game — a match
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bound — tied together
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cold — not warm
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. can — to be able to
  19. dip — to sink
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. squash — the sport

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