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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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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: kid · board · swing · bear · spell · wind · fall · prune

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bear — the animal
  3. swing — to play on
  4. spell — letters
  5. fall — the season
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. fall — to drop
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — child
  12. spell — magic
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. swing — in golf
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bear — the animal
  19. swing — music
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. prune — to trim
  22. board — to get on
  23. fall — to drop
  24. board — a committee

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