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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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Word bank
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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: rest · chest · spring · prune · pound · squash · rash · sharp

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rest — what's left
  6. squash — the sport
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. spring — of water
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rest — a break
  13. chest — a box
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rash — hasty
  16. chest — of your body
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. squash — to crush
  20. pound — a weight
  21. rash — a series
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — a coil
  24. sharp — clever

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