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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bound — certain
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. hand — help
  6. cell — a phone
  7. spring — the season
  8. rule — a law
  9. spring — of water
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wax — to grow
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rule — government
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bound — obliged
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wax — for sculpting

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