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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: prune · swing · wound · bound · bat · hide · lean · fan

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bound — tied together
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bound — obliged
  13. swing — to play on
  14. lean — thin
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bound — certain
  17. swing — music
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. wound — an injury
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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