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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: bear · lie · bound · chest · season · prune · bark · spring

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. bound — certain
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — of water
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. spring — the season
  10. season — of the year
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chest — a box
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. spring — a coil
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bear — the animal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. season — in sport
  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