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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: prune · hand · pound · can · march · press · wind · calf

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. can — to be able to
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. march — the month
  7. prune — to trim
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. can — a tin
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. march — the month
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. can — a tin
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pound — a weight
  23. press — newspapers
  24. march — music

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