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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. last — finally
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. race — the arms race
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. last — to go on
  15. season — of the year
  16. bark — to shout
  17. race — humankind
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. vault — a safe
  21. last — final
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. race — a contest
  24. cabinet — ministers

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