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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: snap · bound · mouse · wake · face · prune · cell · pop

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pop — to visit
  3. face — to confront
  4. bound — obliged
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pop — soda
  7. bound — certain
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pop — music
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cell — a phone
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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