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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: chip · bat · jam · bound · prune · tear · wound · mate

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tear — to rip
  4. mate — a friend
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bound — obliged
  12. tear — from crying
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bat — the animal
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chip — to eat

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