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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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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. staff — employees
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. race — a contest
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. rash — a series
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. race — humankind
  12. cold — not warm
  13. plane — a tool
  14. season — of the year
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. race — the arms race
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. prune — to trim

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