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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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468
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: chest · prune · mine · band · leaves · pound · racket · can

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. chest — a box
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chest — of your body
  8. band — a music group
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. can — a tin
  14. pound — a weight
  15. prune — to trim
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. can — a tin
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chest — of your body
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. can — to be able to
  24. band — a ring

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