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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · rest · cold · prune · pitcher · bound · spell · face

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bound — obliged
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. face — to confront
  8. spell — magic
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rest — what's left
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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