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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: season · wind · kick · prune · land · fan · sharp · wake

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. season — in sport
  6. land — to come down
  7. prune — to trim
  8. land — a country
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. kick — in football
  11. land — ground
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. wake — a trail
  21. season — of the year
  22. sharp — clever
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. sharp — exactly

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