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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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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 · season · bear · cold · straw · swing · bowl · cell

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. season — of the year
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cell — in biology
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. swing — to play on
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cold — an illness
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. cell — a phone
  24. season — in 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