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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: prune · net · spring · bulb · wind · hand · mate · fan

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bulb — for light
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. net — for catching
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bulb — for light
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hand — help
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wind — moving air
  23. prune — the fruit
  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