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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bound — tied together
  3. prune — to trim
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. bound — obliged
  7. last — finally
  8. wind — moving air
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bound — certain
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. hand — in cards
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. wind — moving air

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