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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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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: season · wind · game · prune · calf · file · pop · fine

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. pop — music
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. file — a document
  6. game — a match
  7. prune — to trim
  8. file — a tool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pop — to visit
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. season — in sport
  13. pop — soda
  14. prune — to trim
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — high quality
  18. season — of the year
  19. file — a line of people
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. game — wild animals
  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