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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: squash · march · fan · prune · clip · leaves · spell · lean

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spell — letters
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lean — to bend
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. march — the month
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. lean — thin
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. march — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. squash — the sport
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. clip — a video
  17. squash — to crush
  18. spell — a short time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. spell — magic

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