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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: hide · wave · racket · cold · lean · prune · content · file

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. file — a document
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cold — an illness
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lean — to bend
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. content — the amount
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. file — a line of people
  18. lean — thin
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. content — happy
  22. file — a tool
  23. cold — not warm
  24. prune — to trim

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