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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: bear · leaves · prune · saw · wind · temple · capital · wake

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bear — the animal
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wake — a trail
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. capital — a big letter

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