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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: net · root · wound · prune · bound · rash · chest · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bound — certain
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. net — for catching
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. root — of a word
  12. bound — tied together
  13. root — the cause
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bulb — for light
  16. rash — a series
  17. chest — a box
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wound — an injury
  20. net — in sport
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. root — of a plant
  23. net — after costs
  24. chest — of your body

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