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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: band · prune · bound · land · trunk · bear · face · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. face — part of the head
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — to confront
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. land — a country
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bound — certain
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. band — a music group
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bound — tied together
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bound — obliged
  24. prune — to trim

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