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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: prune · bound · rest · nail · ground · dip · cold · capital

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cold — not warm
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — a break
  7. dip — to sink
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rest — what's left
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bound — certain
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. ground — crushed
  15. capital — a city
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — obliged
  20. capital — money
  21. ground — a position
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. capital — a big letter
  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