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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: lie · bank · cold · plane · degree · prune · squash · fall

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bank — for money
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — from a university
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bank — of a river
  10. prune — to trim
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cold — not warm
  13. squash — to crush
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. plane — a tool
  18. degree — temperature
  19. fall — the season
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bank — for money
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — the Cold War

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