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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: bound · rash · bat · prune · pound · swing · sharp · can

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. sharp — clever
  3. can — to be able to
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. prune — to trim
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — a weight
  14. swing — music
  15. rash — a series
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bound — obliged
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bound — certain
  24. bat — the animal

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