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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ball · wind · squash · stand · row · prune · trunk · spell

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. squash — the sport
  3. spell — letters
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ball — a great time
  6. stand — to bear
  7. ball — a dance
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. prune — to trim
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. row — to paddle
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spell — a short time
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. wind — moving air
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. squash — to crush
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. row — a line
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. spell — magic

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