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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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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: pound · hand · rock · prune · straw · rash · bound · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pound — a weight
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rock — music
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. last — to go on
  12. bound — certain
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rash — a series
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bound — tied together
  17. prune — to trim
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bound — obliged
  24. hand — help

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