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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. last — finally
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. prune — to trim
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. season — of the year
  11. last — final
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. season — in sport
  14. kick — in football
  15. ball — a great time
  16. last — to go on
  17. content — happy
  18. ball — a dance
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. content — the amount
  24. racket — for tennis

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