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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: cell · squash · club · wake · stick · tube · bound · temple

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — tied together
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. squash — the sport
  8. tube — the underground
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. club — a group
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tube — a container
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. club — for golf
  17. bound — certain
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cell — a phone
  21. squash — to crush
  22. club — for dancing
  23. cell — in biology
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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