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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — an illness
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. file — a document
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bound — obliged
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. calf — a young 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