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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: wound · spring · prune · tear · leaves · bulb · fan · pitch

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wound — an injury
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. spring — the season
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. pitch — completely
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bulb — for light

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