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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · bound · kick · cold · fine · leaves · bark · hide

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. bound — certain
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bark — to shout
  7. fine — all right
  8. cold — not warm
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fine — high quality
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. prune — to trim
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bound — obliged
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. kick — in football

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