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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. land — to come down
  4. season — of the year
  5. land — a country
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — a short time
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — not warm
  10. prune — to trim
  11. land — ground
  12. pop — soda
  13. season — in sport
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pop — music
  19. cold — an illness
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. pop — to visit
  23. lie — to recline
  24. spell — magic

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