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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: cabinet · spring · trunk · bound · press · prune · kid · snap

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. kid — child
  2. bound — certain
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. snap — to click
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. prune — to trim
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bound — obliged
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bound — tied together
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. prune — to trim
  22. press — to push
  23. spring — of water
  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