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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. tear — to rip
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. last — finally
  7. squash — the sport
  8. last — final
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. tear — from crying
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pit — a hole
  17. squash — to crush
  18. season — in sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. season — of the year
  21. last — to go on
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pit — in a race
  24. squash — the vegetable

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