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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. season — of the year
  3. roll — a cake
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. season — in sport
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pop — music
  11. rush — hurry
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. spell — magic
  16. roll — a list
  17. spell — a short time
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. file — a tool
  21. spell — letters
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pop — soda
  24. file — a document

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