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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: firm · pop · stick · stem · bound · cold · ball · drill

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pop — music
  3. ball — a great time
  4. bound — certain
  5. firm — decided
  6. drill — the tool
  7. firm — steady
  8. pop — soda
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — to come from
  12. firm — a company
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bound — tied together
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bound — obliged
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. ball — a dance
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. pop — to visit
  23. drill — army training
  24. stem — of a plant

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