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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: craft · temple · leaves · prune · rock · cold · bore · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — not warm
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — music
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. craft — a skill
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. craft — boats
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bore — to tire
  24. fall — the season

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