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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. prune — to trim
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bound — tied together
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bound — obliged
  7. band — a ring
  8. wax — to grow
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. shower — rain
  12. plane — a tool
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. branch — a division
  16. band — a music group
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. deal — to handle
  24. prune — the fruit

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