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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: root · season · branch · tear · prune · fan · fall · straw

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. root — the cause
  5. tear — to rip
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. fall — to drop
  8. season — in sport
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. fall — the season
  11. tear — from crying
  12. branch — a division
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. prune — to trim
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. fall — to drop
  22. root — of a word
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. root — of a plant

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