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

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. spell — magic
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. tear — to rip
  5. spell — a short time
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — letters
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. tear — from crying
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. pit — a hole
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pit — in a race

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