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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 116 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. squash — the sport
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. season — in sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. season — of the year
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. squash — to crush
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kid — to tease
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. file — a line of people
  17. craft — boats
  18. prune — to trim
  19. craft — a skill
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. prune — to trim
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. kid — child
  24. season — to add flavour

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