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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: rest · wound · land · temple · trunk · lean · prune · file

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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. rest — what's left
  4. file — a tool
  5. land — to come down
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. prune — to trim
  8. land — ground
  9. file — a line of people
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. rest — what's left
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a document
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rest — a break
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. land — a country

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