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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: stick · land · fall · capital · trunk · kick · leaves · prune

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. capital — money
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. prune — to trim
  11. land — ground
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — to come down
  14. capital — a city
  15. land — a country
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. kick — in football
  22. fall — the season
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fall — to drop

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