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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bore — to tire
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fall — the season
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fine — high quality
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bore — to drill
  16. club — a group
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. season — in sport
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. fine — all right
  24. fall — to drop

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