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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — from crying
  4. season — of the year
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cap — a hat
  7. season — in sport
  8. bear — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — a city
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. pit — a hole
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. capital — money
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cap — of ice
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pit — in a race
  24. cap — a lid

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