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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chest — of your body
  6. season — of the year
  7. ground — a position
  8. prune — to trim
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — a box
  12. ground — crushed
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. band — a ring
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. ground — the earth
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. season — in sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. band — a rubber band

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