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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bound — obliged
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bound — certain
  6. ground — the earth
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. prune — to trim
  11. roll — a cake
  12. spring — a coil
  13. roll — a list
  14. bound — tied together
  15. spring — the season
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. ground — crushed
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pit — in a race
  20. spring — of water
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. scale — in music
  23. ground — a position
  24. pit — a hole

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