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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 116 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: leaves · patient · bat · fan · lean · file · prune · bound

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. prune — to trim
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. file — a document
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bound — tied together
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bound — certain
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bound — obliged
  24. patient — a sick person

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