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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 · cell · prune · row · firm · swing · wound · cap

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wound — an injury
  3. swing — in golf
  4. prune — to trim
  5. row — a line
  6. spring — of water
  7. firm — decided
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. spring — a coil
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. swing — music
  14. row — to paddle
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. swing — to play on
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — steady
  23. spring — the season
  24. wound — an injury

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