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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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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: rest · prune · bound · degree · face · rush · wind · squash

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bound — certain
  7. face — to confront
  8. degree — an amount
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rush — hurry
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rest — a break
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bound — tied together
  22. face — part of the head
  23. squash — to crush
  24. face — to point toward

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