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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: net · pass · wax · lean · cold · bound · prune · spring

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bound — certain
  10. pass — a permit
  11. net — for catching
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. net — in sport
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. net — after costs
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. spring — of water
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bound — obliged
  22. lean — thin
  23. prune — to trim
  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