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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. season — of the year
  3. current — of water
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. current — happening now
  7. object — an aim
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. bat — the animal
  13. current — electric
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. season — in sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pit — in a race

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