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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a hint
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bound — obliged
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. march — music
  9. prune — to trim
  10. content — happy
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bound — tied together
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bound — certain
  15. content — the amount
  16. season — in sport
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. march — the month
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wound — an injury
  24. season — of the year

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