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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — a city
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fall — to drop
  6. prune — to trim
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fall — the season
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — money
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. season — in sport
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. spell — magic
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. branch — a division
  24. spell — letters

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