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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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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: saw · leaves · wind · prune · march · cap · toast · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. prune — to trim
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — for sport
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. march — music
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cap — a lid
  18. march — the month
  19. toast — bread
  20. field — a subject
  21. cap — a hat
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cap — of ice
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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