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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: charge · straw · prune · wake · pound · cell · content · lean

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. lean — thin
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cell — a phone
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. content — the amount
  13. cell — in biology
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. charge — electricity
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. charge — a price
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. charge — in control
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. content — happy
  24. wake — before a funeral

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