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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: date · prune · sharp · file · leaves · bear · straw · cold

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bear — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. sharp — clever
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bear — the animal
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. cold — an illness
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. file — a document
  19. prune — to trim
  20. file — a tool
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cold — not warm
  23. date — the fruit
  24. file — a line of people

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