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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: mine · bound · pitcher · cold · suit · lash · spell · prune

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. spell — letters
  6. suit — clothes
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cold — an illness
  11. spell — a short time
  12. suit — to fit
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. suit — in cards
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bound — obliged
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. spell — magic
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — to lash out

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