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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: ground · land · rush · kid · ball · bound · mine · prune

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. ground — a position
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. ground — crushed
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bound — obliged
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ball — a dance
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rush — hurry
  14. mine — for digging
  15. ball — a great time
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. kid — child
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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