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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 120 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 · swing · game · file · kid · fork · prune · leaves

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. prune — to trim
  3. file — a document
  4. swing — to play on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. game — wild animals
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bound — obliged
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. swing — music
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. bound — certain
  17. swing — in golf
  18. game — a match
  19. prune — to trim
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bound — tied together
  23. kid — to tease
  24. file — a tool

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