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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: face · prune · sharp · spring · bound · bowl · snap · perch

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. face — to confront
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bound — obliged
  8. face — part of the head
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spring — of water
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. perch — the fish
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. prune — to trim
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. face — to point toward

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