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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.

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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: spring · season · wind · prune · bulb · pit · shower · kid

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kid — child
  6. spring — the season
  7. pit — in a race
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — a hole
  12. kid — to tease
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wind — moving air
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. shower — rain
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. spring — of water
  24. prune — to trim

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