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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 120 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: ruler · mine · perch · bound · sharp · prune · kid · last

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. perch — the fish
  3. mine — for digging
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. last — finally
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bound — tied together
  10. last — final
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. kid — child
  13. last — to go on
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bound — certain
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. sharp — clever

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