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

Word bank: prune · plane · ground · wind · cap · club · season · rule

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cap — of ice
  4. club — a group
  5. rule — a law
  6. ground — the earth
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cap — a hat
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. season — of the year
  11. rule — government
  12. club — for dancing
  13. prune — to trim
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. club — for golf
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. prune — to trim
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. cap — a lid
  21. season — in sport
  22. ground — crushed
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wind — moving air

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