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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 116 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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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: bear · leaves · cold · bound · last · squash · fall · cell

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bound — tied together
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fall — the season
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. fall — to drop
  18. squash — to crush
  19. cell — a phone
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. squash — the sport

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