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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: mine · stem · prune · file · wind · court · fan · plane

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. prune — to trim
  3. court — of a king
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. file — a line of people
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. court — of law
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mine — for digging
  13. file — a tool
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stem — to come from
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — for sport
  18. file — a document
  19. wind — moving air
  20. plane — a tool
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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