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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wound — an injury
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wake — a trail
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bound — obliged
  18. capital — a city
  19. prune — to trim
  20. march — music
  21. capital — money
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bound — certain
  24. bulb — 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