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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: prune · cabinet · bound · land · band · file · spring · mouse

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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. spring — of water
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. land — a country
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. file — a document
  10. land — ground
  11. band — a music group
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. land — to come down
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. spring — the season
  22. band — a ring
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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