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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: prune · wave · cold · fall · lean · tube · ruler · board

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lean — thin
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. tube — a container
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. board — to get on
  17. prune — to trim
  18. lean — to bend
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. board — a committee
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cold — not warm

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