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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: rule · bowl · tear · bound · prune · stick

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rule — government
  8. tear — from crying
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bound — certain
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bound — obliged
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rule — a law

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