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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 · bank · bulb · bat · bound · cue · cold · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bound — certain
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cue — a signal
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bulb — for light
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bank — for money
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bank — for money
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bound — tied together
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ground — a position
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cue — for pool
  24. bat — the animal

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