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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: trunk · land · season · tear · dip · fan · prune · cap

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — a country
  8. season — of the year
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — to come down
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. land — ground
  18. dip — to sink
  19. tear — to rip
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cap — a hat
  24. dip — to dunk

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