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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. prune — to trim
  3. band — a music group
  4. march — music
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. march — the month
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. present — there
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. march — the month
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — for digging
  18. band — a ring
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. present — a gift
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. present — the time now
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. fan — a supporter

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