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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · coach · wind · rush · rash · mate · face · wound

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. prune — to trim
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rash — a series
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wound — an injury
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mate — a partner
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rush — hurry
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. face — part of the head

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