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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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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: bark · rest · craft · bound · last · chest · prune · content

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. chest — of your body
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. craft — a skill
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chest — of your body
  9. craft — boats
  10. chest — a box
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bound — tied together
  14. rest — a break
  15. content — the amount
  16. bound — certain
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. last — final
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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