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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: ball · cell · clip · cabinet · bark · fall · prune · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. ball — a dance
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. ball — a great time
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cell — a phone
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cell — in biology
  16. clip — for paper
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. clip — a video
  21. lean — to bend
  22. fall — the season
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cabinet — ministers

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