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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: lean · wind · season · pitcher · trunk · object · fan · track

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. track — to keep track
  3. season — of the year
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — a thing
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. lean — thin
  8. track — a path
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. track — a song
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. object — to protest
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. lean — to bend
  23. season — in sport
  24. trunk — of a tree

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