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

Word bank: object · rest · lean · foot · fall · prune · row · court

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. prune — to trim
  3. row — a line
  4. foot — a measure
  5. rest — what's left
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. court — for sport
  8. row — to paddle
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. rest — a break
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — a thing
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. rest — what's left
  18. court — of a king
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fall — the season
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — thin
  24. court — of law

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