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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: spell · prune · season · wind · branch · perch · last · land

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. land — ground
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. season — of the year
  5. branch — a division
  6. last — final
  7. spell — letters
  8. last — to go on
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — to come down
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. land — a country
  16. spell — magic
  17. perch — the fish
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. prune — to trim
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. last — finally
  24. prune — the fruit

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