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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: bound · wake · file · content · prune · pound · ground · hand

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. file — a document
  4. bound — certain
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. ground — the earth
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bound — tied together
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. prune — to trim
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. ground — a position
  18. wake — a trail
  19. file — a tool
  20. pound — a weight
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. bound — obliged
  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