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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: spring · degree · bound · prune · content · arm · bark · firm

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bound — tied together
  3. degree — temperature
  4. content — happy
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. firm — decided
  9. degree — an amount
  10. prune — to trim
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. spring — of water
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. spring — the season
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. firm — a company
  21. content — the amount
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. firm — steady

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