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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 116 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: rule · pop · firm · tear · spring · race · prune · wound

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rule — a law
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. race — the arms race
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. prune — to trim
  11. race — humankind
  12. firm — steady
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. race — a contest
  15. firm — a company
  16. spring — the season
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. firm — decided
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rule — government
  24. prune — to trim

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