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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.

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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rush — hurry
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a music group
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. band — a ring

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