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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 116 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: wind · shower · fan · pound · stem · prune · bound · pit

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stem — to come from
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. shower — rain
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — obliged
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wind — moving air
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a hole
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bound — certain
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. wind — to turn a key

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