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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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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: fall · trunk · wave · wound · cap · fan · prune · land

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cap — of ice
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cap — a hat
  5. fall — the season
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. land — to come down
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. land — a country
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. land — ground

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