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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: pit · land · season · calf · patient · wind · prune · lean

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pit — a hole
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. season — of the year
  6. wind — moving air
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. land — to come down
  10. lean — thin
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pit — in a race
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — ground
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. land — a country
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. season — in sport

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