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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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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: field · wound · cabinet · prune · ground · bound · mouse · stick

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. field — farmland
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bound — certain
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ground — a position
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. field — a subject
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bound — tied together
  24. field — for sport

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