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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 120 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: wind · fall · pop · band · cap · mark · cabinet · prune

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mark — a trace
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pop — soda
  8. band — a music group
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pop — music
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. prune — to trim
  16. band — a ring
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cap — of ice
  24. wind — moving air

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