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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. season — of the year
  3. snap — to click
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rash — hasty
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. prune — to trim
  11. vault — a safe
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. rash — a series
  16. drill — army training
  17. pit — a hole
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. season — in sport
  20. branch — a division
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. drill — a practice
  24. branch — of a tree

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