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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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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: ground · cell · chest · snap · pass · wave · bound · prune

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bound — tied together
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — a phone
  14. ground — a position
  15. prune — to trim
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. prune — to trim
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. ground — the earth
  23. snap — to click
  24. bound — certain

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