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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bound · bulb · saw · cold · season · wind · wound · mouse

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bound — certain
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wind — moving air
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wound — an injury
  17. season — in sport
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. season — of the year
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bound — tied together

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