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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. spring — the season
  3. bound — certain
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. spring — of water
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. band — a music group
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tube — a container
  14. spring — a coil
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bound — tied together
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tube — the underground
  23. prune — to trim
  24. band — a ring

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