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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: wake · leaves · coach · degree · shower · cold · stand · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bound — certain
  7. shower — rain
  8. stand — to bear
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wake — a trail
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bound — tied together
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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