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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 120 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: bark · wake · leaves · prune · lash · cold · bound · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cold — an illness
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bound — obliged
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bound — certain
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bound — tied together
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. prune — to trim
  24. racket — for tennis

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