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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · cold · spring · kid · prune · ball · wake · bound

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. spring — a coil
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. kid — child
  12. spring — of water
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. spring — the season
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mate — a partner
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cold — not warm
  24. prune — to trim

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