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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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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: ground · leaves · press · fall · trunk · prune · wind · deal

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. press — newspapers
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. ground — a position
  7. press — a publisher
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fall — the season
  11. ground — the earth
  12. deal — to handle
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fall — to drop
  15. press — to push
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. fall — to drop
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. leaves — of a tree

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