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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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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: fine · ball · cold · bound · bulb · fall · prune · club

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. club — for dancing
  3. fine — all right
  4. bound — certain
  5. fall — to drop
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. fine — high quality
  11. ball — a dance
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. club — for golf
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bound — obliged
  17. club — a group
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bound — tied together
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bulb — for light
  24. ball — a round shape

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