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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · pound · last · prune · ground · spell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. ground — a position
  4. last — final
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ground — crushed
  7. band — a music group
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. band — a ring
  10. last — finally
  11. spell — magic
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — a weight
  17. prune — to trim
  18. last — to go on

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