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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: wave · bound · lean · cold · court · drill · season · prune

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — thin
  6. season — of the year
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. court — of law
  10. season — in sport
  11. court — for sport
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. drill — a practice
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. drill — army training
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bound — obliged
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bound — certain
  21. lean — to bend
  22. court — of a king
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bound — tied together

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