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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: present · fall · lash · cold · prune · trunk · last · safe

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — finally
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. fall — the season
  6. last — final
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fall — to drop
  9. last — to go on
  10. cold — an illness
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. fall — to drop
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — there
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. present — the time now
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. prune — to trim

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