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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 120 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: club · bound · wind · lie · mate · current · spell · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spell — letters
  7. club — for golf
  8. bound — certain
  9. club — a group
  10. current — of water
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lie — to recline
  16. club — for dancing
  17. mate — a friend
  18. current — electric
  19. bound — tied together
  20. current — happening now
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. spell — magic
  24. mate — a partner

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