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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. file — a tool
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. season — in sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. key — in music
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. sharp — clever
  17. file — a line of people
  18. prune — to trim
  19. file — a document
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. season — of the year
  22. mine — for digging
  23. key — the most important part
  24. hide — animal skin

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