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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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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 · prune · kid · lean · cell · wound · spell · safe

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spell — magic
  3. cell — a phone
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spell — letters
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. kid — to tease
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. spell — a short time
  16. prune — to trim
  17. kid — child
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. wound — an injury
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. fall — the season
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lean — to rest against

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