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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: spring · sharp · ball · wound · prune · march · present · temple

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — music
  8. ball — a great time
  9. present — a gift
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — the month
  17. sharp — clever
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ball — a dance
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. march — the month
  24. prune — the fruit

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