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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. rash — hasty
  3. prune — to trim
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mark — a trace
  9. rash — a series
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. mine — for digging
  13. season — of the year
  14. hand — in cards
  15. last — finally
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. hand — help
  21. season — in sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. prune — the fruit

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