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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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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: cold · perch · spell · prune · rest · bound · tear · firm

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — what's left
  5. perch — the fish
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bound — tied together
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rest — what's left
  10. firm — decided
  11. bound — certain
  12. firm — a company
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spell — magic
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. firm — steady
  19. rest — a break
  20. tear — to rip
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bound — obliged

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