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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 116 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: prune · wake · ball · cabinet · tear · last · lie · fall

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. lie — to recline
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. ball — a dance
  6. last — to go on
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fall — the season
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wake — a trail
  24. last — final

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