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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: prune · firm · mark · present · kick · cell · hide · cold

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. firm — steady
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cell — a phone
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cell — in biology
  8. firm — decided
  9. present — there
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. present — a gift
  13. mark — a grade
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. prune — to trim
  16. present — the time now
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. firm — a company
  20. kick — in football
  21. mark — a trace
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. hide — to keep secret

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