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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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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: object · prune · deal · wind · row · pass · cap · spring

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. deal — to handle
  3. spring — the season
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wind — moving air
  8. object — an aim
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. row — a line
  13. object — to protest
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. object — a thing
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pass — a permit
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cap — a hat

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