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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — final
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. last — finally
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. spell — magic
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. pop — to visit
  14. season — of the year
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pop — soda
  17. spell — a short time
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spell — letters
  20. pop — music
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. last — to go on
  23. cap — of ice
  24. season — in sport

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