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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. spell — magic
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — a contest
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. race — the arms race
  10. chip — to eat
  11. race — humankind
  12. spell — a short time
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spell — letters
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year

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