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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cold — an illness
  6. prune — to trim
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chip — for betting
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. row — a line
  12. rush — hurry
  13. perch — the fish
  14. chip — to eat
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. season — in sport
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. season — of the year
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. perch — for a bird

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