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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: prune · squash · mine · bound · ground · content · bank · rush

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bound — obliged
  3. squash — to crush
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. content — happy
  6. squash — the sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bank — of a river
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. ground — a position
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. ground — crushed
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bound — tied together
  20. mine — for digging
  21. ground — the earth
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. content — the amount
  24. bound — certain

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