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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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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: fan · squash · foot · prune · rush · ground

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. ground — crushed
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. prune — to trim
  12. foot — a measure
  13. rush — hurry
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position

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