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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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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: jam · roll · cap · hand · prune · sharp · race · bound

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bound — tied together
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bound — certain
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. roll — a cake
  11. bound — obliged
  12. roll — a list
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. prune — to trim
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. cap — a hat
  18. race — humankind
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. hand — help
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cap — of ice
  23. race — a contest
  24. jam — in traffic

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