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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · straw · chest · bulb · prune · ball · bound · wind

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. spring — of water
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bound — tied together
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bulb — for light
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spring — the season
  13. chest — a box
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bound — certain
  18. bulb — for light
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. ball — a dance
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — of a plant

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