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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: lean · land · bound · staff · coach · rest · cold · prune

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. staff — a stick
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bound — certain
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. staff — employees
  7. land — to come down
  8. rest — what's left
  9. land — ground
  10. bound — obliged
  11. land — a country
  12. rest — what's left
  13. staff — employees
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rest — a break
  17. lean — thin
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bound — tied together
  23. cold — not warm
  24. prune — to trim

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