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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. season — of the year
  4. staff — employees
  5. bulb — for light
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. prune — to trim
  8. season — in sport
  9. bulb — for light
  10. staff — a stick
  11. object — to protest
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spring — a coil
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spring — the season
  18. object — a thing
  19. cold — an illness
  20. staff — employees
  21. spring — of water
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bulb — of a plant

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