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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: prune · stick · cabinet · bound · lean · drill · chest · cold

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bound — obliged
  3. prune — to trim
  4. drill — army training
  5. bound — tied together
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bound — certain
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. chest — of your body
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lean — thin
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. chest — a box
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cabinet — ministers

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