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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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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 · branch · deal · current · prune · cold · pitcher · spring

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. spring — the season
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bound — obliged
  5. spring — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bound — certain
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. prune — to trim
  19. deal — to handle
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. spring — a coil
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. branch — of a bank

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