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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. prune — to trim
  3. season — of the year
  4. bass — low music
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. last — to go on
  10. bass — the fish
  11. content — the amount
  12. prune — to trim
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. content — happy
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. dip — to sink
  23. season — in sport
  24. content — videos and posts

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