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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. season — of the year
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. content — the amount
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. roll — a list
  24. pitch — completely

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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