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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: chair · deal · leaves · fall · bat · prune · wound · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chair — a leader
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. prune — to trim
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. fall — to drop
  11. prune — to trim
  12. content — the amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. content — happy

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