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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mine — for digging
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. ball — a dance
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. saw — the tool
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. clip — a video
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ball — a great time
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. prune — to trim

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