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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: cold · prune · fall · rush · bay · leaves · cap · wound

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cap — a hat
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fall — the season
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cap — of ice
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wound — an injury
  24. leaves — of a tree

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