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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: season · wind · fan · band · bear · cold · pit · bore

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bore — to tire
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. season — of the year
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bore — to drill
  17. band — a music group
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. band — a ring
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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