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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: date · wind · present · cap · prune · swing · fan · bark

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bark — to shout
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. date — the fruit
  10. present — the time now
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. present — there
  14. prune — to trim
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cap — a lid
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — 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