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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kick — in football
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tube — a container
  7. mark — a grade
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. season — in sport
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. mark — a trace
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wind — moving air
  18. land — a country
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. land — to come down
  21. season — of the year
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kick — a thrill

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