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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: lean · fall · race · toast · saw · net · bound · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bound — tied together
  3. toast — bread
  4. lean — thin
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. net — in sport
  9. race — the arms race
  10. fall — to drop
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bound — obliged
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. race — a contest
  15. net — for catching
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fall — the season
  19. net — after costs
  20. lean — to bend
  21. bound — certain
  22. race — humankind
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cold — an illness

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