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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chest — of your body
  4. prune — to trim
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bank — for money
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pop — music
  13. bank — of a river
  14. snap — to click
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bank — for money
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pop — soda
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bound — certain
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chest — a box
  23. bound — tied together
  24. chest — of your body

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