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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: prune · wave · leaves · rush · toast · chip · cold · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chip — to eat
  7. toast — bread
  8. prune — to trim
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. rush — hurry
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. cold — not warm
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wave — with your hand

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