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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. net — in sport
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. net — after costs
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. season — of the year
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. prune — to trim
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. cold — an illness
  15. roll — a cake
  16. net — for catching
  17. roll — a list
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. season — in sport

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