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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 · rest · leaves · nail · sharp · cold · root · calf

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cold — an illness
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cold — not warm
  12. root — of a word
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rest — a break
  18. root — of a plant
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. root — the cause
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. rest — what's left
  23. prune — to trim
  24. calf — of the leg

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