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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: prune · pass · fan · row · game · land · wound · leaves

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. game — a match
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. game — wild animals
  5. land — to come down
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wound — an injury
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pass — a permit
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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