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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: fall · board · mate · prune · stick · cold · plane · deal

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. deal — to handle
  6. mate — to breed
  7. board — a committee
  8. prune — to trim
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. cold — not warm
  16. board — to get on
  17. fall — the season
  18. mate — a partner
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fall — to drop
  24. deal — an agreement

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