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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bound — tied together
  6. season — of the year
  7. mate — a partner
  8. spring — a coil
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. mate — a friend
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. squash — to crush
  14. season — in sport
  15. capital — a city
  16. cap — a hat
  17. prune — to trim
  18. squash — the sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. mate — to breed
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — money
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — certain

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