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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. ground — a position
  4. chest — of your body
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chest — of your body
  8. last — final
  9. season — in sport
  10. snap — to click
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. chest — a box
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. prune — to trim
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. last — finally
  20. season — of the year
  21. last — to go on
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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