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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. march — the month
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stem — to come from
  5. squash — the sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. saw — the tool
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. march — the month
  13. season — in sport
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. march — music
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. deal — to handle
  19. prune — to trim
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. saw — the tool
  23. squash — to crush
  24. prune — the fruit

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