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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wind · squash · fan · root · bark · season · lean

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. bark — to shout
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. root — the cause
  8. prune — to trim
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. squash — to crush
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. root — of a word
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. lean — thin
  18. wind — moving air
  19. root — of a plant
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  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