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

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. spring — the season
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bound — obliged
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bound — tied together
  8. swing — to play on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wind — moving air
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bound — certain
  16. swing — music
  17. lie — to recline
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. wind — moving air
  21. date — the fruit
  22. spring — a coil
  23. swing — in golf
  24. spring — of water

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