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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: clip · wind · leaves · mouse · wave · shower · prune · foot

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. clip — to cut
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. clip — a video
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. shower — rain
  20. foot — a measure
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wind — moving air
  24. shower — to wash

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