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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — not warm
  4. scale — size or range
  5. current — electric
  6. cold — an illness
  7. season — in sport
  8. current — of water
  9. scale — in music
  10. pit — in a race
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spell — magic
  13. pit — a hole
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — to rob
  16. spell — letters
  17. season — of the year
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. current — happening now
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. mug — a face
  24. prune — the fruit

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