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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 120 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 · bound · calf · charge · fall · track · hand · prune

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fall — the season
  5. charge — a price
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bound — tied together
  8. track — a path
  9. hand — help
  10. fall — to drop
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bound — certain
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — electricity
  16. cold — not warm
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. prune — to trim
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. track — to keep track
  23. prune — to trim
  24. track — a song

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