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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: cold · spring · cabinet · fine · bound · ground · bass · present

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ground — the earth
  3. present — the time now
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bass — low music
  9. present — a gift
  10. bound — obliged
  11. fine — high quality
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bound — certain
  14. spring — the season
  15. bound — tied together
  16. fine — all right
  17. ground — a position
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. present — there
  24. cold — an illness

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