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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. shower — to wash
  4. deal — to handle
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. saw — the tool
  8. season — in sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. file — a document
  12. fine — high quality
  13. prune — to trim
  14. shower — rain
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. file — a line of people
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. file — a tool
  19. season — of the year
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. prune — to trim
  22. saw — the tool
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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