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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: trunk · bat · bound · firm · squash · cold · spell · dip

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — decided
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. spell — magic
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bound — tied together
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. spell — letters
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. cold — an illness
  23. firm — a company
  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