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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 116 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: cold · pound · prune · leaves · rule · wake · racket · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rule — government
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. lean — thin
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. wake — a trail
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. rule — a law
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cold — not warm

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