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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: land · firm · squash · prune · clip · bound · straw · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bound — tied together
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. land — to come down
  5. prune — to trim
  6. squash — to crush
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. clip — to cut
  9. firm — decided
  10. mate — to breed
  11. firm — steady
  12. bound — obliged
  13. mate — a friend
  14. land — a country
  15. squash — the sport
  16. firm — a company
  17. bound — certain
  18. clip — for paper
  19. prune — to trim
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. clip — a video
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. land — ground
  24. squash — the vegetable

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