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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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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: cell · cold · wind · saw · stick · hide · band · lean

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cold — an illness
  4. band — a music group
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lean — to bend
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. lean — thin
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — not warm
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cell — a phone
  23. band — a ring
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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