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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · pitch · land · cabinet · leaves · object · dip · prune

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. land — to come down
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. land — ground
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. land — a country
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pitch — completely
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. object — an aim
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. dip — a sauce
  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