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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: ball · bound · press · hand · content · prune · mine · wave

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. hand — in cards
  7. ball — a dance
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. hand — help
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bound — certain
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. press — newspapers
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bound — obliged
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bound — tied together

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