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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: object · rash · march · wound · club · bound · prune · spring

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. club — a group
  3. spring — the season
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — tied together
  6. rash — hasty
  7. object — to protest
  8. spring — a coil
  9. prune — to trim
  10. march — the month
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. club — for golf
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — certain
  16. club — for dancing
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. object — an aim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. spring — of water
  22. wound — an injury
  23. prune — to trim
  24. object — a thing

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