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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: band · wave · bound · snap · ground · prune · spring · shower

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. ground — the earth
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. shower — rain
  5. spring — the season
  6. band — a ring
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ground — crushed
  12. prune — to trim
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. ground — a position
  15. band — a music group
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. shower — to wash
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. spring — of water
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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