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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 120 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: bank · bulb · bound · spring · lie · vault · cell · cold

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. spring — the season
  3. cold — an illness
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bulb — for light
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. spring — of water
  12. bank — of a river
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bank — for money
  18. cell — in biology
  19. lie — to recline
  20. bank — for money
  21. spring — a coil
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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