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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 120 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: lean · spring · row · prune · plane · race · fall · squash

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. lean — thin
  3. prune — to trim
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — a tool
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. lean — to bend
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. race — humankind
  14. fall — the season
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. row — to paddle
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. race — the arms race
  22. prune — to trim
  23. spring — a coil
  24. race — a contest

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