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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bound — tied together
  10. march — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — a tin
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bound — obliged
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bound — certain
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. can — to be able to

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