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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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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 · prune · mouse · cell · clip · snap · bear · wound

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. snap — to click
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. clip — a video
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. clip — to cut
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cell — in biology
  22. clip — for paper
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bound — certain

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