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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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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 · prune · season · present · deal · bay · fall · spring

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. wind — moving air
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. spring — of water
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fall — to drop
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. spring — the season
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. season — of the year
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. prune — to trim
  21. present — the time now
  22. deal — to handle
  23. fall — the season
  24. season — to add flavour

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