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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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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 · kick · land · wind · dip · firm · tear · mate

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. firm — steady
  5. tear — to rip
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. land — to come down
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kick — in football
  10. mate — a friend
  11. firm — a company
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. firm — decided
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. mate — to breed
  18. land — a country
  19. dip — to sink
  20. prune — to trim
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. mate — a partner
  24. land — ground

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