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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. root — of a word
  6. fine — high quality
  7. pit — in a race
  8. root — the cause
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chair — a leader
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fine — all right
  14. scale — in music
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pit — a hole
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cold — an illness
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cold — not warm

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